The Unresolved
by fleets
Summary: Sequel to Beyond Centuries. Vaati had decided to spend some time away from civilization to think about things, but things don't go the way he planned when he finds himself involved in Hyrule's history once more. Details in profile! Rated T to be safe.
1. Prologue

fleets: Tadaa! I followed some advice from some kind readers and decided to actually start this before my mind blew up. I might have rushed things a bit, so if you find anything confusing, let me know and I'll go back and make changes. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: All Zelda related characters, objects, settings, etc. belong to Nintendo. This original story line belongs to ME and so do the original characters. Please don't take without permission!

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**Prologue**

Let me begin by telling you my name. I am known as Vaati, Sorcerer of Winds. The history of my various plans to obtain ultimate power and to take over Hyrule have escaped the memories of most people, and fewer yet would remember the time that I had taken the form of a Hylian, or even a Minish. I refuse to be reminded of my horribly humiliating Minish life, and so will continue describing myself as the undeniably irresistible Hylian.

What? You say that you had been told that I was a demonic black eye that could cover the fields of Hyrule in darkness in one night? I'm flattered by the description, but I can hardly say that the form as the eye is the form I like best. For purposes of fighting and crushing little green clad fools it works relatively well, but for practical purposes I prefer to appear more human. I've also found I am pretty fascinating amongst the female population in my Hylian form, and this I don't hesitate to take advantage of.

I would like to say that I am of average height and not some ridiculously short stature that I had been cursed with in my previous misadventure with Link. Let me say it again: I am not short. The consequence of being sealed in the Four Sword is, I'm afraid, the inability to age. Of course this is a good thing if you're at the age you want to stay in, but I was sealed when I had been around twelve in the Minish age and therefore I appeared twelve when, several centuries later, I was released to go wreak havoc once more. So if Link ever told you that I was rather short for someone who had lived for over several decades, I tell you he is stupid and you shouldn't take him seriously. That said, I am currently living outside the realm of the seal of the Four Sword and have been able to age appropriately to the point that I now look like an adult. Insult me about my height now and you'll find yourself regretting your idiocy later.

As much as I would like to go on talking about myself, I have more pertinent issues I would like to discuss.

Like Link, for example.

When I last met him I told him explicitly "May we never meet again." Now, I thought that when they said that the spirits and the great and holy ones had forgiven me they were being serious, as they aren't known to be good with humor. I had made a decision to separate myself from everything and stay in low key to think about things. I had planned to never meet Link again, and _I_ was completely serious about what I had said. It appears, however, that the divine great ones wanted me to suffer more by creating a series of events that would inevitably lead me back to the annoying "hero."

What did I do to deserve this? I have committed crimes in my life, but didn't they say that I was all clear? Didn't they say I succeeded in their little tests to redeem myself? Can't they just freaking leave me alone now?

Hahaha, you make me laugh. Wasn't Link my friend, you say? Oh, this is hilarious.

I was never friends with the fool. I had some time to think about things, and over the years one of the things I thought about most was the time I was forced to spend with Link. I admit that I said things that implied friendship, and I admit my actions may also have deceived you into thinking I actually liked him. The more I think on it, however, the more I come to realize that my actions were such because I had been under enormous stress and because I had been tired. Just think: stress can make you irrational, and believe me when I say no one can ever escape stress.

This does not mean that I would like to kill him like I had used to wish. I do not even hate him even though I find him annoying. In fact, I am indifferent about him. You don't believe me? Well, I do not want to see him die…but that is not the same as being friends. I can wish strangers to not die even though I am not friends with them. You are not convinced yet. All right, then let me tell you that I kept Link alive because he proved useful to me in my previous adventure: nothing more. It was only for selfish purposes I kept him alive. Handshake? That boy would never have left me be if I had not at least pretended to be friends with him. You are beginning to irk me. I do not like this particular topic you are persuading me to pursue. No, I am not in denial, you fool. Now shut up before I decide to end your pathetic life.

Confused, muddled, anti-hero, in denial, depressed, wretched: whatever name you decide to fling at me I will reject them with a firm standing. You don't know me.

But we digress. Whether or not I was friends with the fool is unimportant. What is important is the fact that I had planned to lead a quiet life after the last adventure and the fact that something is preventing me from achieving this goal. If I have to meet Link again, and in this case I believe there is a high likelihood of meeting him, I swear I'm going to go blow up the goddesses myself.

For the first time in my life I was set on staying away from civilization to just think and do nothing, and I had thought no one would have problems with that. You bloody idiots. If you want me involved, I'll make sure you remember what I'm capable of for all eternity.

OXXXXXO


	2. Goodbye my daughter

**Chapter 1: Goodbye my daughter**

In a dimly lit corner of the princess's chambers, a mother knelt beside her daughter and they held each other desperately as though they would never see each other again. The little girl cried soundlessly, afraid that even the slightest noise would make it time to say goodbye. After a while, the faint green glow from a fairy flitted around the two and the sound of the clock striking midnight reverberated through the castle to signal the end of a day. The mother sighed deeply and stirred at the sound.

"Mommy, I don't want to go," Daeia Zelda Daltus buried her tearstained face into her mother's arms. Princess Zelda wrapped her daughter in a tight embrace and stroked her hair in somber silence. Only after Daeia's pained sobs died down into hiccupping sniffles did she gently take the girl by the shoulders and forced herself to look into her eyes.

"I don't want you to go either, Daeia," the princess whispered in sorrow, "but it's for your safety. Mommy doesn't want to see you hurt."

Daeia hugged her knees and rocked slowly back and forth, her eyes fixed to the floor. Her features contorted into one of confusion and grief. "Why did daddy leave?" Her voice began to choke up as she remembered her dad being led outside the castle in shackles. "Why did they take him away, mommy? Did he do something bad?"

"Oh Daeia." Zelda took her daughters hands and clasped them tightly. This scared Daeia a bit because she had never seen her mother look so worried and…and old. "Oh Daeia," the princess repeated. "I don't know." Tears were falling freely down Zelda's face now, and Daeia fell into a fit of new sobs. Finally, Zelda held her daughter away from her and gave her a small leather pouch to sling across her shoulders. This caused Daeia to cry even more.

"Daeia, I want you to listen carefully," Zelda shushed her. "Daddy used to carry this pouch when he used to go on adventures. I want you to be strong like daddy was, Daeia. I want you to stay safe. When this is over, we'll find each other again." Zelda forced a smile on her face. "We'll have picnics again. We'll go visit the Zoras and daddy will buy you apples at the market. We'll all go to the Picori festival together, and we'll cheer daddy at the swordsmanship tournament. Hush, Daeia." She hugged her once more and kissed her on her forehead as they both continued to cry. "But until the grownups take care of the grownups' business I need to know you're safe, away from this place."

"But why can't you come with me?" Daeia bawled. Her voice was muffled within her mother's arms, and Zelda whispered in her ear in an attempt to soothe her.

"Because mommy has to take care of things here."

Daeia punched the floor softly, and then slowly cried herself to sleep as she had tired herself out. Zelda gently cradled the girl protectively. "Fey," she said with her head turned to the side. The pale green orb flitted before the princess and it appeared to twitch in agitation.

"Yes, your highness?" it asked with obvious worry and grief.

The princess's dim blue eyes lingered on the slightly sniffling girl who had fallen asleep in her arms. Her tone became businesslike. "Fey, I have placed some food, water, and extra clothes in the leather pouch I gave to Daeia. Make sure she takes care of herself and find a place to stay quickly. I will send you and my daughter to a small village on the outskirts of Hyrule quite a ways from here. It will be far enough that they won't be able to find her quickly. I will come and get you once everything is sorted out."

The fairy's wings drooped and it sunk a little in the air as they stopped beating. "So we really are doing this, your highness? There's no other way?"

Zelda's lips pursed into a tight line. "No, Fey. I wouldn't have decided to go through with this if I knew of something better." She brought her slender fingers before the sleeping girl and concentrated on the white light that was beginning to form between her fingers. Fey flitted above Daeia and settled down onto her golden locks. Zelda bowed her head before she completed the spell. "Fey, take care of my daughter."

"Yes, your highness. But will you be all right?"

Zelda's tearstained face was framed by the strange shadows created by the light from the spell. Her eyes never took themselves off of the figure of Daeia that was beginning to fade away as the warping spell began to take effect. "I will be all right so long as I know my daughter is away from here in safe hands. Take care of her, Fey."

The little fairy made a silent promise as they were warped away and the melancholy, grief stricken form of the princess of Hyrule vanished and melted into the darkness.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jarod whistled a random tune as he made his way back to the village. The lumber stocks were finally piling up, and he hoped this would be the last time he would have to chop wood for the lumber supplies they would use during the winter. Winter wouldn't come for some time, but the temperatures were already dropping and the villagers were beginning to complain about the biting chills during the night.

The slightly aging man lurched along the path with the stocks of wood slung over his shoulder. He was close enough to the village to be able to see some smoke rising above the roofs.

"Hey! Help! Hey!" A shrill voice called out to him. Jarod was suddenly startled by a flitting green orb that frantically flew around his head.

"Whoa, whoa, what the heck?" He exclaimed as he tried to swat the thing away. He reached out with his fist and managed to grab the panic-stricken fairy by its wings.

"Ow! Hey, lemme go!" the thing yelped. Jarod let go in surprise as he hadn't expected the glowing orb to speak. After it ruffled its wings in indignation, the fairy began to twitch around in agitation once more. "You've got to help us, sir! Please! Follow me!"

"Er," Jarod hesitated, but then decided to follow the quickly retreating fairy before it escaped his view. He wondered what the thing was as he had never seen fairies before.

The fairy led Jarod stumbling over rocks and overgrowth that littered the ground away from the footpath. It was in so much worry that it disregarded the fact that Jarod had to walk through all the obstacles to follow it to their destination. As Jarod tried to untangle himself from some brambles again, the fairy zipped back and began to yell at him.

"Hey! You have to hurry up, mister. We don't have time so stop dallying!"

Before Jarod could retort the fairy had zipped back again. The man grumbled as he wiped some sweat away from his rustled brown bangs; he had only spent a few minutes with the fairy and he was already beginning to want to smack it. He considered going back to leave for the village, but an urgent call from the fairy peaked his curiosity. What was it that the thing wanted him to see?

"Over here! Hey, over here!" The fairy looped into circles in panic. When Jarod approached, he saw what it was the fairy needed help with: there was a little girl shivering beside a clump of bushes, her blond hair slightly damp from the dew. He could tell that she was from the city, and probably the daughter of a sophisticated family, as she wore clothes of fine fabric and some expensive looking shoes.

"Why, what are you doing out here all by yerself, miss?" Jarod asked with worry. He cautiously knelt beside her so as not to scare her. The girl hugged her knees and refused to speak. Jarod tried again. "Ye're shivering, girl. Have you been here all night? Ye could've caught a cold," he took her unyielding arms and wrapped them around his shoulders so he could pick her up. "I'm taking ye back to the village and we can figure out where ye're from so we can get ye back to yer parents." Jarod felt the girl's small hands tighten into little fists at the mention of her parents, and he saw her bite her lip with a hurt expression. He patted her back and he walked carefully back to the path, his face creased with worry: he hoped that she hadn't been abandoned.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"All right, let's get a look at ye." Jarod said as he plopped the girl onto a couch. He brought her some blankets and a warm glass of milk which the girl took gratefully, but she was in no mood to speak. She occasionally scrunched her nose at several things around his modest house: some animal heads mounted on the wall, the pelt rug, and the faded wooden walls of the house. Jarod assumed from her reaction that she had never seen these things as she had come from a high society background. "Let's begin with introductions then, ey? My name is Jarod, and this is the village of Ruso. What's yer name little miss?"

The girl hung her eyes and her legs dangled rhythmically. "Mommy said I shouldn't tell my name to strangers," she mumbled.

Jarod sighed. So she was _that_ kind of kid. The fairy decided to help in.

"Sir, her name is Daeia and I am her attendant fairy Fey. We are grateful for your help."

"Attendant fairy? I've never seen or heard of one of those," Jarod said as he eyed the flitting fairy. He was still a bit annoyed by the fairy's shrill and somewhat bossy voice.

Fey did a small loop. "That's not surprising. But you say this is the village of Ruso? I've never heard of such a place."

"It's quite far from Hyrule castle town. If that's where ye're from it's probably normal ye've never heard of us."

"We can't tell you where we're from, sir. Please don't ask us. I'll tell you that we may be followed by malevolent people so we cannot reveal as much about us as we would like to."

"Followed? What do ye mean, followed?" Jarod asked with interest. Daeia began to sniffle again, so he got up and brought a hot towel to wipe her face. When Fey answered again that they couldn't tell him, Jarod shook his head. "Ye can't expect me to let ye stay if ye prove to be a radar for some nasty folk. I have to think about this village, ye see." As he cleaned the girl's face of tears his eyes fell to the design over her dress. There was the symbol of the holy triforce with wings.

Fey fluttered down onto Daeia's hands and looked disappointed. "I see. Then can you take – "

"Hold it there, little fairy. I was just saying that to make sure ye knew how serious my decision will be. Ye won't say where ye're from, but this old man ain't so dim that he can't figure out that ye're from Hyrule Castle itself. Now am I right?" Jarod waved Fey away as she began to protest. "The symbol on little Daeia's dress is the crest of the royal family. If ye two are all the way out in a small rural village such as Ruso, then somethin' big must have happened at Hyrule. If that be the case, then ye can stay here as long as ye want. The villagers will agree with me, I'm sure."

"Thank you so much sir!" Fey sprung up and fluttered around Daeia. The girl's head tilted up as the fairy zipped around her face. "Daeia, we've got a place to stay!"

The girl brought her hands up to her silver adorned headband and twiddled with it a little bit. She rocked back and forth for a bit before the corners of her mouth curled upwards. It was forced, but Daeia's smile was the first one Jarod had seen since he had first found her. "Thank you sir," she mumbled shyly.

Jarod patted her hand. "Little Daeia. You're part of the family now. Call me Uncle Jarod." He stood up and tidied up the room a little as he continued to talk. "I'll speak with the others just to let them know what's going on, but they'll look out for ye. We're a tight bunch, the people of this village. Ye can trust them. If ye ever need something, don't hesitate to ask."

Daeia got up and shuffled over to the window with Fey following closely. She had a dazed look on her face, and she appeared to be trying hard to accept her situation. Everything was too brown here, and hardly anything reminded her of home. Jarod…or Uncle Jarod…seemed nice enough but he couldn't replace her family. He couldn't replace daddy.

_Daddy_. The thought of her daddy washed her over in sorrow. _Why did they take him away? Where did he go? Where are you daddy?_

Fey and Jarod came up beside her but she didn't notice them. Their consoling voices were only drowned out by the sound of her sobs.

* * *

fleets: I'm ashamed at the number of OCs that have already appeared. Ugh.


	3. Plans for Exploring

Tired...yawn I think the OC parade is going to settle down after this chapter. Thanks for your patience.

**Chapter 2: Plans for Exploring**

"So, how is my little Daeia doing?" Jarod asked conversationally. The girl was perched on a rock with her hands on her knees as she watched the cuccoos cluck by her feet. A week had passed since her arrival, and yet Daeia refused to utter more than three consecutive words. Jarod had tried multiple times to get her to interact with the village kids in hopes that she would smile again, but she always shook her head and never ventured further than the cuccoo pen around Jarod's house. Her pink dress was becoming faded from frequent washing as she wouldn't touch any other clothes Jarod and the other villagers offered; Fey suspected Daeia was afraid to lose the last symbol of her castle home.

Jarod continued to smile in a hopeless manner as Daeia continued to ignore his presence. Fey answered that the girl was "as usual," but the fairy sounded flustered by the girl's silence as well. The man sat next Daeia and threw some corn at the clucking white birds.

"Do ye want to come with me to Miss Kathy's house today? I heard she made enough pot pie for everyone."

Daeia shifted a little, but soon she was back to staring stonily at the cuccoos.

"Daeia, we should try some country pie. Didn't you always say you wanted to see life beyond the castle?" Fey tried. The fairy flitted around the girl's face but could get no response. They stayed sitting side-by-side watching the cuccoos for a while, and Jarod and Fey nearly jumped up in happiness when the girl finally stood up from her seat. Their hopes disappeared, however, when Daeia simply moved off to pick up a cuccoo to pat it on the head. She quickly resumed her eerie silent stare.

As still as she was, Jarod still noticed her eyes moving from one feature of the land to the next in interest. Daeia was still a child after all, and the highly different culture and environment of the country interested her. He took this opportunity to try to pique her interest. "Beautiful place, huh? I bet ye've never seen a village like this where ye've come from." He saw the girl chance a glance around the village. Jarod continued. "Ye know, ye'd see some more interestin' stuff if ye'd just go out into the village more. I know when I was a kid like ye I went exploring all over the place."

Daeia pat the cuccoo on her lap and her gaze wandered over to the majestic mountains that cast a cool protective shade over the village. They were right at the base, and yet they still appeared to go upwards for miles.

"Ah, the mountain's have caught yer interest, have they?" Jarod followed Daeia's eyes. Her blue eyes snapped away from the mountains as though she were ashamed he caught her appearing curious of something when she was supposed to be playing the part of a stubbornly miserable child. Jarod chuckled. "Ah, yes. Exploring is good and I highly encourage it in young'uns like ye, but the mountains are the one place I plead ye to avoid. Of course, my saying that will probably make ye want to go there wouldn't it?"

Daeia fiddled with her fingers and stole another glance at the mountains.

Jarod nodded. "There's a reason why nobody from the village goes near the mountains though, and I suggest ye do the same. There's somethin' nasty in the mountains." He looked thoughtfully at the rock cliffs. "Not even the monsters approach it, and there are stories…"

"Stories?" Fey asked, her wings tense. She was enough of an audience for ten people while Daeia stuck to playing with her hands, causing the cuccoo to hop away. Still, Jarod could tell the girl was listening with keen interest.

"Aye, stories. There are travelers who pass by the village speaking of accidents and strange thefts. We had a man who had broken his leg after he had been knocked clear off the side of a trail even though no one had pushed him. He wasn't the clumsy type so we can be sure he didn't trip. There were several other similar accounts, and the strangest thing is that every one of them were robbed clean of food, water, rupees, and valuables."

"Jarod dear! Get back here and help prepare dinner you lazy good for nothing!" a harsh shout issued from the house. Jarod shrugged and sighed as he wearily stood up and hobbled over to the voice.

"Coming Mae dear, coming." Jarod stuck out his hand to Daeia to offer her some corn so she could feed the birds, but put them back in his pockets after he saw he wouldn't get any response.

Aunt Mae, as Daeia was asked to call her, was Jarod's loud obnoxious wife. She had immediately taken a dislike towards the girl especially after she heard about the possible risks involved in keeping her in the village. That wasn't to say that Aunt Mae didn't like children; her reaction towards Daeia was something similar to how a cat lover with severe allergies would react towards kittens. There was a strained tolerance for Daeia's presence, but everyone could tell the poor woman was trying to make herself like the girl.

Fey flitted towards Daeia and landed on her palm. "Are you all right, Daeia?" she asked with worry.

An argument began from inside the house, and Fey could hear snippets of "hopeless child," and "never recover." She could tell Jarod was trying desperately to persuade Aunt Mae to give it a few more weeks for Daeia to recover from the initial trauma of becoming separated from both her parents. The relationship between Aunt Mae and Daeia wasn't any better due to the fact that the girl refused to speak. At least if Daeia acted like a happy bubbly normal six-year-old she would have been more acceptable in the eyes of Aunt Mae. It was even worse when the girl gave Aunt Mae her royal look of disdain that clearly showed what she thought of peasant life.

"Come on, Daeia. Let's go see what the village is like." Fey urged gently to try to steer the girl out of earshot of the argument. Even then, the fairy knew that the girl knew that they weren't completely wanted in the village: only pleasantly tolerated.

"I'm ok." Daeia's voice came as a surprise to Fey. The fairy had even begun to think she had forgotten the girl's voice because she was so quiet. Daeia hugged her knees and stared out towards the mountains.

XXXXXXXXX

That night, Daeia had trouble falling asleep. It had something to do with the ongoing sharp voices coming from the living room, but it was mostly the mountains that kept her awake. Fey noticed, and repeated her question of concern.

"I miss mommy," Daeia whispered. "I miss mommy and daddy."

"I know you do," Fey brushed her wings against the girl's cheek. "But we have to listen to mommy and stay where we are until everything is settled."

Daeia frowned and thought about the mountains again. She was scared of what might reside there, but she had a nagging feeling that she needed to go to the mountains. Her hands still chubby from a bit of baby fat strayed towards the pouch her mother had given her before she had been sent away to Ruso. "Mommy also said," she trailed off as Aunt Mae exploded in anger a few rooms down.

"What is it Daeia?" Fey asked.

Daeia continued in a hushed voice as the argument died down again. "Mommy also said I have to be strong like daddy."

"That's right," the fairy replied. "You have to be brave to live a new life."

"No!"

The fairy was caught off guard by the girl's sudden severe tone. Daeia had her hands in little fists.

"No. I have to be like daddy, Fey, not hide. They took daddy away, and someone has to bring daddy back home." She closed her eyes. "I have to be strong and bring daddy back home."

Fey flew up away from Daeia in surprise. "What? No, no, the task is too big for you. And hiding isn't an act of cowardice; sometimes it takes great strength to do it. Daeia, you don't know what you're saying."

"I'm going to look for daddy," Daeia said stubbornly. "I'm going to find him and bring him home."

"But you don't even know where to look!"

"I do."

"What?!" The fairy gasped. It suddenly dawned on Fey what the girl planned to do. "Daeia, you heard what Uncle Jarod said about the mountains, and your daddy might not even be there." Daeia's determined blue eyes began to worry the fairy. It had the look of someone who was unstoppable.

"Daddy always shows up where bad things happen. Daddy always saves people. If there's something bad in the mountains, then daddy will be there."

"Daeia –"

"I'm going."

"I made a promise to your mother to keep you safe."

"I made a promise to mommy to be strong."

"Daeia –"

Fey felt a soft hand tap her lightly to the side. Daeia shook her head and yawned. "I'm sleepy. Goodnight Fey."

The fairy fluttered towards the bed, speechless. She hoped Daeia wasn't going to do what she said she planned to do.

XXXXXXXX

Fey woke up by the sun's light creeping past through the shades. She flew up, startled, when she saw Daeia hastily packing away objects into her small leather pouch that had used to be her dad's inventory bag. The girl had collected some crackers, a few sandwiches she had rummaged from the house, a bottle of water, an empty bottle, some pebbles, and two rupees she had found on the ground. The fairy interrupted the girl's determined packing.

"Daeia! What do you think you're doing?!"

The girl continued to ignore the flitting green orb. She took a moment to brush away her blond hair that had fallen over her face and continued to double-check everything.

"You know you can't go to the mountains, Daeia, it's too dangerous. This isn't some sort of game!" Fey scolded. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into and if you get hur – Aaah!" The fairy found herself hitting glass as she tried to fly. Fey bounced along the transparent walls until she realized she was trapped. Daeia's blue eyes were brought level with the fairy as she observed Fey trapped inside the empty bottle.

"Sorry Fey. I'll let you out later." Daeia put the corked bottle with the green fairy inside the pouch and pretended not to hear the angry buzzing issuing from the bottle. There was a few "tinks" as Fey hit the side of the glass.

Satisfied that she was prepared for her exploration into the forbidden mountains, Daeia made her way out of the house. She bumped into Jaro – Uncle Jarod and Aunt Mae when she walked outside.

"Why hello Daeia. Do ye want to feed the cuccoos again?" Jarod asked. Aunt Mae watched her sadly, expecting her usual dark mood. Both Jarod and Mae appeared tired from a long night of arguing.

"No Uncle Jarod. I'm going to go explore the village." Daeia answered in her most innocent voice. The two adults went wide-eyed in surprise and it took several minutes for the girl's reply to register in their minds. Gradually, Jarod's face broadened into a full, wide smile.

"That's great! I can go with ye if ye like! I can give ye a little tour."

"No thank you," Daeia smiled back, surprising Jarod and Mae once again. "I'd like to explore on my own."

"I don't know about sending you off on your own," Aunt Mae began but Jarod cut her off with a grand wave of his hand.

"Now dear, exploring isn't much fun if ye've got a tour guide. Half the fun is in discovering new places by yerself." Jarod beamed as Daeia nodded happily. "Have fun and make new friends little Daeia. Just make sure ye don't go too near the mountains! Even experienced explorers get into trouble there."

"Thank you Uncle Jarod! I'll go explore, then!" The girl swiftly turned around and dashed off into the village. After running several feet away, she turned around and gave them a hearty wave before continuing off into the distance.

Uncle Jarod and Aunt Mae marveled at the sudden change in Daeia's attitude.

"Do you think she'll be all right?" Aunt Mae asked. She was more suspicious of the girl.

"Of course she'll be fine! I'm glad she may have finally gotten over whatever has been troubling her." Jarod smiled. He was too happy that Daeia was responding to wonder what had caused her attitude to switch. "Come, let's make sure Daeia can come back to find a good lunch waiting for her."

Little did they know that they wouldn't see Daeia return for lunch...or ever at all for that matter.

* * *

fleets: we're almost getting started ;)

**Diablo1123: **Ok. Vaati will be central to this story. That's all I can say for now. :)

**Reily96: **Yay thanks! Yeah, I'm afraid of how OCs come across sometimes. Have you ever tried the Mary Sue test? Sometimes I find I've created horrible Mary Sues.

**I luv Vaati: **Yup! You've got the pronunciations down :D. I don't really know myself, but I think it's "Day ia." The other questions...I can't answer them yet :P

**Rune Caster: **I know! Eep (don't hurt me). I couldn't do without them though...they're needed for the plot. Don't worry, this story IS very Vaati centric so you won't be seeing too many important OCs (hopefully).

**Peka the Corsair: **Thank you. I'm always suspicious when I see OCs in fanfiction. I hope you like this story!

**Yuudai Arai: **You're welcome, and thank YOU! Ah, Mary Sues; how we hate them and yet how difficult they can be to escape. I hope none of my characters turn into Sues...


	4. Keeper of the Mountains

**Chapter 3: Keeper of the Mountains**

Daeia gripped her animal pelt overcoat that Jarod had given her tightly around herself as the temperature began to drop with each step upwards along the mountain. She stuck to the trail that appeared to have been abandoned for several years now: Jarod's story of the malevolent force in the mountain struck an uneasy chord. It seemed things _did_ stay away from the mountains, and the girl was beginning to feel scared. Daeia also thought she heard occasional strange noises, something between a squawk and a shout, and several times she stopped with her eyes wide trying to determine if she had just imagined it. She was determined to find daddy, however, so she kept going.

The surroundings lightened as Daeia walked out of the forest with the end of the mountain's tree line. There were a few sparse bushes but beyond where she stood were craggy rocks and sheer cliffs. A half-rotten bridge swung in the wind over a chasm. Daeia moved carefully towards the bridge and sat down in front of it; too frightened it would break with her weight seeing how no one had bothered to repair it over the years. She sighed and put her head on her arms, wondering where she should go next since she had hit a dead end.

Fey would come in handy now.

Daeia rummaged around her leather bag until she came upon the bottle with the buzzing fairy who was still angrily hitting the glass. She took a deep breath and uncorked the bottle, bracing herself for the lecture that was sure to come.

"DAEIA! I can't believe you put me in a bottle! Your mother would never approve! Did you learn that from your father? When we meet him again I have a few things to say to him. Also, you are _not_ to go to the mountains, you hear me? Hey! Listen! You are to stay away from the mountains!"

Daeia drew pictures on the dirt as the fairy stopped talking and flitted around to look at the surroundings. The girl was beginning to consider putting Fey back into the bottle.

"Daeia, where are we…?" Fey swirled around as she realized they weren't at the village, and then spun faster in increased panic.

Daeia bit her lip as the fairy stopped abruptly, the calm before the storm. After a few minutes of silence, the storm exploded.

"Dear goddesses Daeia! You did _not_ go to the mountains!" Fey shrieked.

"I did…"

"Didn't you hear a word of what Uncle Jarod said?! And daddy is NOT here! If he was it would be _way_ too easy and the world just…doesn't…work that way!"

Daeia stood up and pouted. "How do _you_ know daddy won't be here?! You've never been here so you wouldn't know. At least looking for daddy is better than doing nothing!"

Fey was about to retort when the two heard persistent squawking from the forest Daeia had come from. They froze up in terror.

"Oh no," Fey breathed. She flew to Daeia's hand and urged the girl to stand up. "Come on Daeia, we have to hide."

The girl kept her eyes on the direction of the ominous squawking as she tripped and stumbled over behind a rock. She pressed her back to the rock trying to make herself hidden as well as possible, and she squeezed her eyes tightly, afraid of being found by whatever it was that had followed them. Fey crept up and peeked above the rock to see what was causing the strange noises. The fairy ducked sharply back down and accidentally hit Daeia on the head in her hurry to hide.

"Bokoblins," Fey said under her breath. She watched Daeia holding her hands tightly in fear. The fairy wished daddy hadn't made his descriptions of monsters so elaborate when he had recounted his adventures to Daeia; he had made even the lowest forms of monsters sound impossible to beat to make his stories interesting. It was making Daeia's first encounter with actual monsters a lot worse than it should have been.

Still, Bokoblins were dangerous. They travelled in groups and they could overwhelm unprepared people. Little girls and fairies were even easier targets. Something about these Bokoblins bothered Fey though. _I thought Jarod said not even the monsters approached the mountains_, she wondered. _Why have they come so high up into the mountains? Were they following…us?_

Her train of thought broke as the squawking neared, and she made out broken Hylian of "dead end" and "somewhere near." They were looking for something, all right. They would be lucky if they evaded the Bokoblins' search.

The squawking chatter suddenly died down as a powerful gust of wind blew across the mountain crag. There was a high-pitched screech that echoed away and Fey guessed that one of the Bokoblins had been unlucky enough to be thrown off the side of the cliff. _That sounds a lot like what Jarod recounted_, Fey thought in horror. The fairy felt the urge to look over the rock again to see what was going on, but she decided to stay put after the Bokoblins began to jabber nervously at something.

"Why, it's a nice day out today, isn't it?" a cold voice asked from somewhere to the right of the rock Fey and Daeia were hiding behind. Fey could catch a glimpse of a dark purple cloth, but she couldn't see anything else. "Was it so nice out that you decided to take a stroll up this mountain that _I had specifically asked you stay out of?"_ the voice became sharp and menacing, and the Bokoblins gave a panicked squawk. The jabbering died down and one of them began to talk earnestly. The mysterious person chuckled in a nasty way, and Fey had the impression that this was someone they wouldn't want to mess with.

"Looking for someone? Here? I guess you wanted to see me then because I'm the only person on this old piece of rock. Now, by what foolish reason have you come to see me? Or did you want an appointment with Death? That can be arranged shortly."

There was more jabbering and squawking. The Bokoblins were beginning to sound desperate.

A sharp angry hiss interrupted the group of monsters. "You fools. I want none of it, do you understand? I'm going to let you go so you can tell all your other friends whom they're going to be dealing with if I see them here again. Bring this token with you so your more dim-witted kind will be able to get the message." There was a brief flash after the voice muttered "To Stone With You" and the monsters yelped into a panicked frenzy. Fey took a brief glance over the side of the rock and saw to her amazement one of the Bokoblins turned to stone. She watched the Bokoblins scurry away with the stoned monster from her hiding spot and took an uneasy peek towards the one who had saved them.

If Fey had to describe the young man in one word it would have been "purple."

He wore a royal mauve tunic with a gold buckle snapped around his waist, and he had the total composure of a mage of old with a dark cape draped over his shoulders and a ruby encrusted hat streaming from his head. There was a gold pin on his collar right below his thin lips he wore with a frown, and one of his piercing red eyes was hidden by light purple hair that went down below his shoulders. There were dark streaks on his cheekbone.

Fey imagined she had seen him or at least heard of his description before, but she couldn't think of where. Seeing his cold, calculating eyes, she judged she must have heard of him doing something malicious. She slowly flitted back down to hide behind the rock again, and bumped into Daeia for the second time.

"Ah!" the girl gasped in surprise. As soon as the girl had made a noise there was a whirlwind and the man was hovering right above the rock they were hiding behind. Fey and Daeia looked up at the silhouette in terror.

"Well, well, well," the man sneered. "So they _were_ looking for someone. I guess I was wrong." He floated down until he was standing on the rock. He cocked his head to the side in amusement. "Dear little girl, don't you know it's dangerous to come here?"

Daeia remained frozen as she hugged her knees tightly and Fey fluttered between them in defense.

"Don't you know," he asked as he hopped down off the rock and stood in front of them, "that there's a big bad sorcerer living in these parts?"

Daeia began to loosen her grip on her knees as a word the man said caught her interest. "Sorcerer?" She was in a dangerous position, but magic always intrigued her. Besides her mother, she had been told magic no longer existed among people.

The red eyes narrowed, causing Fey to go closer towards Daeia. The man clicked his tongue. "Yes, a sorcerer. One who abuses his power." He looked at her for a while and then sighed in exasperation as he realized Daeia didn't look as scared as she should be. Children were difficult to deal with. "Why am I wasting time talking to a little child like you?" He made a movement towards Daeia, grabbed her hand firmly, and proceeded to drag her out from behind the rock and back towards the forest. Daeia struggled to get him to let go and Fey protested.

"Hey! Mister! Let her go and stay away from her!" She sent a little shock of magic towards the man's wrists in an attempt to zap him into releasing Daeia. The man flicked his free hand and Fey's spell rebounded and hit her instead. He stopped and smirked at the fairy that was twitching a little in a daze.

"Shame on you. I was just bringing this lost little girl home. We'll get back sooner if you cooperate." He let Daeia go and propped the surprised girl like a doll onto a stump. "Would you mind telling me where you're from?"

Daeia looked at the man firmly and recited the lines she had learned from her mother. "Mommy told me I shouldn't talk to strangers."

The man rolled his eyes. "Did she now? You hypocrite, you were just talking to me. Your mommy would be ashamed."

Daeia stuttered a bit as she realized she _had _talked to the stranger. She tried again, refusing to lose. "I'm not a hippo-grit." She was beginning to be upset enough that she forgot about her fears for the man. No one had treated her with such disrespect back at the castle. "And you wear funny clothes," she said as she scrunched her nose.

"You're right, you're not a _hypocrite_. You're a brat. Now tell me where you're from so I can take you back to mummy," the man frowned. He watched Daeia make a face and point her nose skywards in a clear message that she wasn't going to tell him anything. "Are you from Ruso?" he tried. The man glanced at the fairy that floated unsteadily back up as she recovered from the rebounded spell. "You, where is this girl from?"

Fey buzzed. "You think we'll tell you? We don't trust you at all."

"Fine. I was just trying to be civil," he shrugged. "If you won't tell me, I can either get rid of you by sending you down the mountain like that Bokoblin or I can hand you two over to those idiots." He looked at Daeia who was biting her fingernails. "I was offering help, but if you two don't need it…" he shook his head in mock pity.

Daeia began uncertainly, "I'm from Hy –"

"We're from Ruso." Fey cut Daeia off. "Now please take us back and we hope to never see you again."

The man snorted rudely. "Good. I don't care what happens to you. Just don't bother me again, and keep your little adventuring to the village cuccoo pens."

_What an immature young man,_ Fey thought disdainfully as she considered how he had treated them. She had believed someone with decency wouldn't treat a six-year-old with such pessimistic sarcasm.

"All right. Enough wasting time. Off to Ruso." The man announced with boredom and he warped them away from the mountain.

* * *

fleets: Vaati Vaati Vaati! It's so fun writing his dialogue.

**Peka the Corsair: **Thanks! I was that kind of kid :P

**Reily96: **Opal turned out to be a Sue. I tried to be really careful with her after. And then I killed her off D:  
I wonder why we couldn't keep Navi in a bottle...At least then she wouldn't have been able to go on with her Hey! Listen!

**Rune Caster: **Yes indeed! Though I dunno about Vaati being evil; well, he claims he is. Let's see if he speaks true, 'cause even I don't know the answer to that one. :D I've never had to suffer through Navi, though from rumors I hear she was horrible.

**I luv Vaati: **Not much answers in this chappie, but a lot of your questions will be answered in the next one (I think). Stay tuned!

**Astral S. Kepeire: **So I JUST saw you review and I decided to add the reply here. Thanks for following this! Super-updating? Whew, well I sure hope I can keep this up...


	5. No Rest for the Wicked

A.N.: The beginning might be a little grisly...

* * *

**Chapter 4: No Rest for the Wicked**

The first thing the man noticed when he arrived at the outskirts of Ruso was a pungent, sour smell mixed with the stinging air full of ashes that caught at the back of his throat, making him cough. _Are they having a bonfire or something?_ he thought. _And what's that disgusting smell?_ After he got used to the air, the man lowered his arm he had brought over his eyes to block the ashes and took a look around.

The ambient orange glow was definitely not from the sunset, and the thick black smoke that rose over the roofs of the village was definitely not from the fireplaces of the homes.

A shaky whimper from somewhere near his arm reminded him the reason he had come to the village. Daeia was holding her hands just below her eyes but was unable to block the horrid view in fearful terror. Fey had fallen down onto the top of Daeia's head in shock. "Wait here," the sorcerer ordered the two and made his way further into the demolished houses and burning yards.

No sooner had he gone a few yards into the village did he notice a pile of charred disfigured black objects. Some of them had the remains of arrows stuck on them while others suffered severe gashes from sharp weaponry. The dead. The man recognized the remains of Ruso as a monster attack.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he tried to figure out what he found so strange about it all. He had seen monster attacks on villages before and the attack on Ruso looked as typical as the ones he had experienced. There should be nothing strange about this one at all, but something was setting off alarms in the back of his head. His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp cry from the direction he had left Daeia and Fey.

The man found the girl as rigid as though he had placed his stoning spell on her, afraid from being abandoned. He sighed tiredly. "Let's get you away from this grisly place and then we'll figure out what to do with you. From the looks of everything there don't seem to be any survivors."

The girl nodded, biting back tears, and grasped the man's hand tightly as they moved off away from the remains of Ruso.

XXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe…gone…Uncle Jarod…the village, gone." Fey uttered still shaken from what she had seen. "If we had still been there…"

Daeia gave another whimper and she squeezed the man's hand tightly. She didn't know who he was and he wasn't very nice, but he was the only person at the present moment that could give her comfort. The sorcerer, however, appeared irritated by having a little girl clinging to his hand.

"Look, would you stop crying? I'm just as upset that your home got destroyed because now I'm stuck with you, but I'm not crying about it."

The fairy snapped up. "You selfish, heartless monster. Do you understand what the girl is going through? You disgust me," she said severely. The sorcerer chuckled bitterly.

"You describe me quite well. I'm flattered you even noticed my most charming qualities," he said flatly. He ignored the fairy that was buzzing her wings angrily and wrenched Daeia's hands off of his wrists. The girl was sniffling and staring at her feet, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably now that they didn't have anything to hold. The man tapped her chin and got her to look into his sharp red eyes. "You have to tell me if you have anywhere else you can go to," his eyes shifted over to the smoke from Ruso rising in the distance, "or else I'm going to leave you here."

"You would _never!_" Fey interjected. The man held up a thin white finger to silence her.

"I would. Don't you remember you said I was a selfish, heartless monster?" He turned to Daeia again whose eyes were wide with fright. "You have to tell me, dear."

Her expression became distant, and the man worried for an instant that she might pass out. After a moment, however, she barely spoke one word and the man had to strain to hear what she had said. "Daddy."

The sorcerer grinned. "Good girl. So I'll take you to daddy." The girl bit her lip but the man didn't notice and he continued. "I wonder why daddy doesn't live in the village, though." He glanced at the girl to persuade her to answer.

"They took him away…" she whispered, her voice cracking as a new fit of tears began to creep its way back. "They took him and sent him away…"

"Who're they?"

Daeia began to talk to herself more than to the nosey man. Her eyes had lost focus and she had the distant look of a person revisiting a haunting memory. "Granddaddy was angry one day. He was yelling at mommy. Mommy said she was ok but I heard granddaddy yelling. Then he was yelling at daddy. The next day," Daeia began to choke up, "they took daddy away."

"So daddy was unfaithful and mommy was a whore," the sorcerer summarized in a lazy tone.

"Don't you dare speak of Princess Zelda that way, mister!" Fey screeched at the suddenly surprised man. "And Link was everything BUT unfaithful! He was the kindest, most loyal father of all of Hyrule!"

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as the man and the fairy stared at each other, both startled by the outburst. The beating of Fey's wings slowed as she realized she had revealed Daeia's identity as the heir to the throne while the sorcerer's expression turned from surprise to shock to suspicion. With each transition the shadow over his face darkened and his aura became increasingly malevolent. Daeia and Fey backed away a little as the man knelt down to eye-level with the fairy. "Who did you just say daddy was?" he said quietly.

"Um," Fey hesitated. The man kept going in the same, even tone.

"I think I must have heard you wrong, wonderfully screechy as you are. I don't think you said _Link_, correct? You definitely did not say Link?"

Daeia slowly took a shy, frightened step towards the man. "You know daddy?"

The sorcerer stood up abruptly and whirled away from them, his cape billowing behind him. He let out a sharp laugh but his expression was anything but amused. Daeia and Fey stood frozen to their spot in nervous fright as the man repeated the name "Link" over and over again sourly. Daeia was wringing her hands together, unsure of what to do. She desperately wanted clues to the whereabouts of daddy, but the man who knew him frightened her.

Finally, Fey spoke up and broke the man's reverie. "Hey, you know Link?"

The man turned around and gave a strained smile. "Of course I know him. He gave me more trouble than anyone I've ever met in not just one but _three_ lifetimes."

"Three? I don't underst – wait," Fey stopped as recognition hit her. The red jeweled hat, the unpleasant attitude, the magical abilities, the dominating purple. "Are you…you can't be…are you Vaati, the Hero of Winds?"

Vaati gagged. "Say that again and I'll turn you to stone. I'm Vaati, the _Sorcerer _of Winds."

"But you can't be Vaati!" Fey fluttered in agitation. "Link held you in high regard! He always told us that though you were rather…rude…you were always generally good and not some twisted mind that stands before me now. He told us how you helped save Hyrule when Ganondorf took over, and he even told us how – "

"How we were just best friends," Vaati finished jeeringly. His laughter died down and his face faulted when he realized Fey was hovering silently. "You know I was being sarcastic, yes? So help me Nayru if Link actually told you that."

"He told us how you were one of the greatest friends he'd ever known," Fey replied quietly.

Vaati scowled in annoyance. "Link probably didn't have many friends, then."

"I'm beginning to think so too," Fey sighed. She fluttered over to Daeia who had just mumbled something. "What's that Daeia?"

"Help me find daddy," Daeia turned her face upwards towards Vaati. "Please?"

Vaati growled and brushed some bangs out of his eyes. "Hmph. I see no reason why I should go try to find the last person I want to see. I would never go try to find Link if my life depended on it." Daeia was on the verge of tears again, and the mage huffed. "Go on, cry all you want but you won't be able to change my mind. Besides, if I see Link again I'm going to kill him. You won't get any help from…," Vaati paused as something dawned on him. He stared at Daeia for a long while and he appeared to be thinking of something. "You won't get any help from me…" he repeated slowly, but something in the tone of his voice reflected the mage was no longer paying attention to what he was saying. The corners of his lips began to curl upwards into a smirk and a mischievous light glinted in his red eyes.

Daeia looked at him in bewilderment. She gingerly took a step forward and gathered enough courage to tug the sorcerer's cape to get his attention. Vaati arched his eyebrow in questioning, and she tried to ask again. "Please?"

Vaati burst out laughing, causing Daeia to take a timid step back. He began to mutter to himself, and Fey wondered if the years of isolation were to blame for the sorcerer's apparent insanity or whether the insanity had always been there. "Oh you bloody fools, the lot of you. Nayru, Din, Farore; are you listening? You're going to drag me into some Hero of Time legend again, aren't you, just like you made me travel with Link without any magic several years ago? I still hold a grudge against you for that. But this? Haha, Valoo, you said I was "redeemed?" Oh goddesses, you didn't really mean that did you? Of course not, since you just dropped a great big problem before my feet. And do you know what's worse you clever fools," Vaati was roaring with laughter by now. "Do you know what's worse? You've found a way to get me to follow your little plans _willingly_. That's right. I've got to give you credit you clever bastards. You've found a way to make me go on a little errand willingly. I hope you burn in hell."

Fey circled around Vaati in worry. "Hey! Vaati, are you all right?" Vaati continued to laugh maniacally. Fey shouted louder. "Hey! Listen! Hey! What's wrong with you?!"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Vaati shrugged with a crazy smile still plastered to his face after his initial laughter had died down. _I guess we're destined to meet again, Link._

The fairy twitched in disbelief before she noticed Daeia staring at Vaati open-mouthed in shock. The girl pointed a shaking finger at Vaati. "He said a bad word…" she whispered in awe.

"Huh? Oh. Hey you! Watch your language in front of the little missus!" Fey scolded Vaati. The smile vanished from the sorcerer's face and was replaced by the frown they had become used to seeing.

"Well I don't give a damn."

There was a gasp and Daeia covered her ears with her hands. Fey began to give Vaati another scolding, causing the sorcerer to maintain an annoyed expression. He shook his head and waved a hand towards the flitting fairy. "You're horribly screechy. To Stone With You."

There was a bright flash of light and something dropped heavily to the ground. On the grass was a fairy shaped rock with its wings extended tightly in an image of startled surprise. Daeia knelt down and picked it up, examining it to see if Fey really was turned to stone.

"Now where was I? Ah yes. Daeia, was it? I've changed my mind. I've decided I'll help you find daddy." He watched Daeia bring the stoned fairy up to him with her head tilted to the side. He chuckled. "Oh, you want me to turn your little fairy friend back to normal? I like it quiet this way though."

Daeia nodded, but not before asking a question. "Was that magic?" She appeared intrigued and frightened by the spell at the same time, but the interest in her face suggested she really wanted to know more about magic.

"What else would it be, silly girl?" Vaati took Fey from Daeia's hands and tossed it up and down in the air. He grinned broadly as he caught the stone in his hands and examined the handiwork of his spell. Magic was brilliant. It gave him so much power over practically everything.

Power.

Vaati took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He hated how fate and chance was going to make him lead a path back to the blasted Link, outraged in fact, but if his plan worked…

_Ha, I never learn._ Vaati admitted, grinning. _But if this works my past three defeats would not have been in vain. _He fingered the jewel embedded on the top of his hat. "Little Daeia, we're going to find your daddy. I'll make sure to it," Vaati declared. _Ultimate power at last…_

OXXXXXXXXXXO

* * *

fleets: Good golly he's out of whack and looney. Or just plain obsessed. You decide. But just what is he planning to do? D:

_Coming up next_: What happened to Link? What's going on? Hopefully the next chapter will give us answers.

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Perfect timing on your part, I say. :)

**Diablo1123: **Totally purple.

**Rune Caster: **Vaati finds fairies annoying too x)

**Reily96: **And he's proud of it :P

**I luv Vaati: **Yep, he's back!

**Peka the Corsair: **Link? Welllll I'm not allowed to answer that one. XD


	6. The Exiled Prince

fleets: I wrote this at (checks watch) 1 in the morning. This is crazy for me. Still, the story bugged me so much I had to go write. Because I wrote this at 1 in the morning, I might have made a few errors. Let me know if you see any! Thanks.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Exiled Prince**

The mage sighed and stared at the stone fairy in his hand as Daeia watched cautiously over his shoulders. He had a few questions he needed answered, and though turning the hysterical thing into stone was a nice temporary answer to save his ears he couldn't rely on Daeia alone to tell him everything he wanted to know. As the mage debated a little longer whether he should turn the fairy back or not, he felt a small tug on his cape.

"What?" he snapped. Daeia cringed and shuffled her feet before she pointed at the fairy.

"Can you fix Fey?" she mumbled. "She's my friend."

Vaati scoffed. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know how to fix Fey into something less annoying." He rolled his eyes irately when the girl looked at him in confusion. "Never mind. Yes, I'll turn her back to normal…stop tugging my cape thank you very much." He whisked his cape away from Daeia and focused on the stoned fairy, waving his hands over it and muttering a few spells. The girl scooted closer to him, causing Vaati to glance back at her sharply before turning back to the fairy once more. The girl wasn't scared enough for her own good.

Light cracked out of the stone and in a brilliant flash Fey was floating gently down in a daze. Vaati eyed her with suspicion, waiting for the shrieking to begin again. The fairy fluttered drunkenly for some time before she suddenly snapped to attention and whirled around Vaati.

_There she goes again_, Vaati's lips flattened as Fey began to rant about how unnecessary it had been to magically immobilize her and how she would tell Princess Zelda and Link (_Ooh, I'm so frightened. Ha_) if he had hurt Daeia in any way or polluted her innocent mind. _Blah blah blah, oh just shut up_.

"Daeia, do you have some bag or box or somet – aha, good girl, a bottle would do nicely," the sorcerer said as Daeia produced a glass bottle from Link's old inventory bag. He took aim and swiped the fairy with the bottle and corked the buzzing Fey inside. He tsked. "I'm going to let you out on the count of three and when I do, you are not going to shriek and you are going to answer some questions. If you start shrieking, I'm going to keep you in the bottle until you behave. Understood? One, two, three."

_Pop!_

"How dare you – !" _swipe. _

Vaati shook his head and rapped the side of the bottle. "Let's try this again. One, two, three."

_Pop!_

" – put me in a bottle and –" _swipe._

"Still shrieking. One, two, three."

_Pop!_

" – treat me with such disrespect! I'm – " _swipe._

"One, two, three."

_Pop!_

" – the attendant fairy of the Royal Family and you – " _swipe._

"One…...two…...three."

_Pop!_

" – put me in a disgusting bottle and – " _swipe. _

"…...three."

_Pop!_

" – give bad influences to Daeia and – " _WHACK._

Fey spiraled onto the ground and splat onto the grass after Vaati had slapped her down as he would a fly. Daeia ran over to where the fairy lay stunned and poked her until she could fly again. The little girl brought her finger up to her lips and made shushing motions at the fairy that was beginning to buzz in anger. Vaati walked casually over to them. "You know, it would be in your best interest to stay quiet. I've decided to help the girl find Link and I need you to tell me a few things. If I see you won't screech anymore, I just might decide not to turn you into stone and keep you that way until the rain slowly erodes you into a pile of dust."

Fey trembled a bit in rage, but remained quiet when Daeia continued to keep shushing her.

"Much better," Vaati nodded in approval. He slowly began to pace back and forth. He kept his gaze on the grass and appeared to be thinking of something as he asked his question. "Why are you two so far away from Hyrule?" he finally spoke.

Fey seemed to lose her energy and she sunk a little in the air. "Well, you know how King Daltus ordered the exile of Link from Hyrule a few weeks ago? They never told anyone the reason why except that he had committed treason of one form or an – "

"Hold, hold. Link was _exiled?_" Vaati interrupted in disbelief.

Fey sounded just as surprised. "Goodness, you really must have been living in a bubble. There was gossip everywhere when the people heard the king was sending the Hero in exile. I thought it would have been impossible _not _to know. Even the people of Holodrum were making a big deal out of it."

"The point of me going off to this piece of bare rock in the middle of nowhere was so that I could be completely alone." The sorcerer grumbled.

Daeia piped up after being quiet for all this time. "Why didn't you stay with daddy and everyone else?"

"Because I didn't particularly _like_ daddy."

"Daddy said he liked you."

"Yes, yes, I've heard."

"Daddy also said you were short."

Vaati bristled. "Oh, did he?"

"Yeah." Daeia looked him up and down. "But I think daddy made a mistake about your height."

"I wonder what else daddy said about me?"

Daeia carelessly twirled her bangs around her finger. "Daddy said you were mean, you were bad, and you were scary, but you were a good person in the end. Oh, he also said you lied to yourself a lot." She frowned. "Why would you lie to yourself? That's stupid."

"Your daddy," Vaati began in a strained voice, "is stupid. And so are you for believing him."

But Daeia was no longer listening and was currently occupying herself with a ladybug she had found. Like Link, she had the talent of tuning out characters like Vaati.

"Just like daddy," Vaati muttered. He turned to Fey who had been waiting patiently during their little conversation. "Now continue. Why was Link exiled? Was the king unable to stand the annoying brat as well?"

The fairy ignored Vaati's comment. "Link was exiled because he married the princess without the king's and the court's consent. Even though he was the Hero of Time, they could not accept the princess marrying a mere commoner with no royal blood. The situation became worse when they found out Princess Zelda had Daeia."

"Ok, so they sent Link away. Big deal. Now why are you two out here in the middle of nowhere being a nuisance?"

"I was just getting to that." Fey said patiently. "The court didn't want word to get out that the princess had had an affair with a commoner so they did whatever they could to pretend as though the marriage had never occurred. In the beginning, they had let Daeia stay in the castle and appear as though she was the daughter of some wealthy widowed duchess somewhere. Link was allowed to visit on weekdays for 'political business,' as the townsfolk were told, to see Daeia. The princess and I had thought that the marriage would become accepted sometime later as the king and the castle hands were becoming quite attached to Daeia and Link. Things were going so well the king and the court had even allowed Link to see the princess twice a week if he wanted to. We really believed the marriage would be accepted."  
"A year ago, however, things began to change. The first sign of something going wrong was the king's decision to stop Link's weekly visits. We were shocked; even the court couldn't understand why, after they had finally been deciding to accept the marriage, would have to order the visits to be stopped. Princess Zelda tried to get her father to explain but he apparently didn't even listen to her. The king's hostility gradually increased, and he refused to acknowledge Daeia's presence. When Zelda went to confront the king on the issue again, she came back with bruises on her cheek. That day was the day the king ordered Link to be exiled from Hyrule in chains and shackles like a criminal."

"You can't deny he was a criminal. He broke the laws of marriage between royalty." Vaati pointed out. Fey glared at him, and Vaati sighed. "All right. I understand your point about the king's sudden change to be strange. Maybe he finally came to his senses and realized how much trouble Hyrule would be in if Link was given the title of Prince?"

"I still can't believe Link thought you were one of his greatest friends ever."

"Exactly my point, dear. Think about what would happen to Hyrule if the prince thought people like me were his friends. Hyrule would be robbed right under his nose."

Fey whirled around. "Even so, Princess Zelda was distressed about something. The night after Link was sent away, she told us that we were unsafe in Hyrule and ordered us to stay away until 'things were sorted out.' I can't imagine what she meant by that, but she warped us away to Ruso and here we are."

The fairy waited as Vaati rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he went over what she had said. The sorcerer occasionally looked over to Daeia who was still playing with the ladybug, apparently bored by the "grownup conversation" that didn't sound fun at all. Finally, Vaati stood up and stretched. "If we can't go to Hyrule to get more information on where Link may have gone, then the next best place to get information would be somewhere like Labrynna. I've never been there before so we can't warp, but I have my cyclone." He started a cyclone around them, causing Daeia to forget about the ladybug and look wildly around her in terror. "It's not too far from here, so we'll get there quickly."

The cyclone picked up speed, and Vaati later wished that he had made a mental note of the girl's terror before he had decided to whisk them away into the air.

XXXXXXXX

Sometime later, Daeia was hugging her knees looking somewhat embarrassed but terrified at the same time. Vaati was irritably rubbing his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. Daeia had screamed the moment they were airborne, and this had caused Fey to begin shrieking as well. They had gone no more than a quarter mile before Vaati had been forced to give up and land to stop the two from giving him a migraine.

"I'm not going to let you fall so there's nothing to scream about," the sorcerer growled. Daeia shook her head and whispered quietly about being scared of heights. Vaati turned towards Fey. "And you didn't have to contribute to the hideous screeching."

The fairy shook herself in a somewhat flustered way before fluttering back down onto Daeia's head. Vaati took a deep breath and controlled his annoyance. _It'll be worth it in the end. You've had patience enough in pursuing power; you can have a little more patience for this._

The sorcerer frowned and shaded his eyes to look into the distance past the girl and her fairy. He could make out the faint outlines of Labrynna's castle in the horizon, and he judged that it wouldn't be entirely impossible walking there. It would take a few additional days (_a few additional days of babysitting torture_, he thought to himself), but at least he would be spared the screaming. Oh goddesses, what painful screaming. He looked wearily at the expectant Daeia.

"Do you understand that you'll have to walk to Labrynna if you don't let me take you on my cyclone?"

Daeia nodded.

"And yet you prefer to walk than to fly?"

Daeia nodded again, this time a little more earnestly. The sorcerer threw his hands up into the air in exasperated defeat.

"Fine then. Do what you want. We'll walk to Labrynna, but don't expect me to carry you there if your feet begin to hurt." He began to trudge along through the field in the direction of Labrynna. Daeia jumped to her feet and followed closely behind with Fey on her head. Vaati watched Daeia stumble over as her foot caught a rock. The mage could just tell this was going to be a long walk to Labrynna.

OXXXXXXO

* * *

**Astral S. Kepeire: **I've got my own theories on why he didn't turn Ezlo into stone (hint: hehe, think prequel ... oh noez!)

**Reily96: **Vaati is so much better than Ganon. Nintendo, are you listening?

**I luv Vaati: **Vaati! You're thinking of something baaad. Nope, my calls fall on deaf ears. He doesn't learn. :P

**Peka the Corsair: **You'll see. You've got the right idea. :D

**JeanneAndHerAlters: **Yay a new reviewer! Welcome! Yes, Fey did have to return, but trust me when I say Vaati hates her presence poor guy. Soul consuming muffin? eats it Oh noez, I've sold my soul to the devil...muffin!

**Diablo1123: **Probably heavier nods. But Daeia also has her handy dandy inventory bag Link used to have, and he used to carry a huge ball and chain in there (and iron boots). Unless, of course, Link could carry those like they were made out of cotton candy.


	7. One Eyed Terror

fleets: well, so I guess you guys will get an update this week because I've already made myself bored of gimp...ha, typical me.

* * *

**Chapter 6: One Eyed Terror  
**

"Hurry up a little. At this rate it'll be winter by the time we reach Labrynna," Vaati growled at Daeia who was beginning to fall behind. From the hike up the mountain until now the little girl had been forced to walk nonstop towards the castle that loomed in the distance, and which was yet still so far away. She had lived in a castle all this time; she never had to do anything so strenuous before. She watched the sorcerer's forehead crinkle as he frowned in annoyance, and dashed forwards a little to catch up to him. As soon as she was right behind him she caught a face full of cape and she was again watching the retreating figure of the mage.

"Wait," she called, but Vaati merely snapped his fingers, quickened his pace, and ignored her. Daeia jogged to keep up but occasionally had to stop to catch her breath.

It wasn't fair. If only she was taller she'd be able to keep up without running.

Fey tapped Daeia on her shoulders and urged her to keep going. The fairy had already asked her if she wanted to try Vaati's cyclone again, but the girl had vehemently opposed. Vaati had taken this rather sourly and was now keeping a grueling walking pace to try to encourage her to submit to choosing the cyclone. Daeia, however, was equally stubborn and refused to ask for the cyclone. Besides, it would mean she had _lost_ against the mean sorcerer if she asked. She was determined not to give him the victory.

She tripped and skidded along the grass, her dress staining green. The number of times she fell was increasing as her feet gradually lost energy. Vaati had gotten so used to it now he no longer looked back to see what the commotion was all about. Daeia felt like crying from the apathy, but she bit her tongue and swallowed the tears. She wasn't going to be bullied like this. She heard Fey ask her if she was all right and if she was sure if she didn't want to go by cyclone. Daeia nodded with an angry pout, but realizing that it was getting too dark to notice slight head motions she gave a flat "yes" in reply.

Daeia suddenly became worried as she noticed for the first time how dark it was outside. Back when she was still living in Hyrule, mommy would scold her if she ever wandered outside the castle past sundown. Mommy used to say that monsters would come and spirit her away if she didn't go to bed early like a good little girl.

Her head snapped around to the fairy and she asked if monsters would get her if she didn't go sleep now. Fey gave a weary sigh and assured her that monsters wouldn't get her tonight if she focused on keeping up with Vaati. Not entirely convinced, Daeia brushed off some stray grass from her dress and began to jog after the sorcerer again. Just as she stood up, she caught a faint glimmer of light in the corner of her eye. It lingered a few minutes before it flickered away into the increasing darkness. It was torchlight; she was sure of it.

Daeia froze and strained to hear into the falling night, struggling to distinguish between the noise of Vaati's footsteps and the rustling of something approaching from farther out into the field. She shushed Fey who had begun to ask why she had stopped and pointed in the direction she had first seen the shimmering firelight. They both held their breath and scanned the field, looking for signs of something following them. It was deathly quiet until a breeze blew in their direction, carrying with it something they preferred not to hear. Daeia began to run towards the direction Vaati had gone as the sounds of squawking neared. She should've just gone to sleep today like mommy advised.

XXXXXXXXX

Vaati felt small hands grip him firmly as they pulled him to a stop. _What is it now?_ He looked down with a cold glare but Daeia appeared more preoccupied by something else to notice him. She was hugging him closely, staring intently into the dark.

The sorcerer's eyes narrowed as they quickly took in the surroundings. He caught a few odd movements slightly to the right, and a smile crept around the edges of his lips as he counted several dozen hunched figures shuffling around in careful movements as they gradually approached. They were still a good ways away, but he could hear little whispered squawks now and then.

Perfect timing. He was beginning to get bored.

Vaati gently got the girl to let go of him, and he patted her shoulders reassuringly when she looked at him in fright. The expression on Vaati's face would have made any normal man run for his life if he found himself on the wrong side of the smile. Daeia and Fey watched nervously as the sorcerer strode confidently towards their trackers.

The whispered squawking died down as Vaati stopped and cracked his knuckles with altogether too much cheerfulness. Once he was sure he had everyone's full, terrified attention, Vaati snapped his wrists and the field blazed in ominous green light as several glowing eyes hovered in a wide arc around them.

There was a loud yelp as the group of Bokoblins snapped to attention in surprise. They were carrying assorted weapons; some of them still stained a dark brown from the blood of the victims of Ruso. Another alarm rang through Vaati's head as he watched the monsters huddle together. Something was wrong with this picture, and yet he couldn't figure out what was so out of place with these Bokoblins. He shrugged the thought aside. If he couldn't figure what it was that was bothering him now, then it wasn't important.

"Daeia, I bet your daddy never told you what I was before I traveled with him, hmm?" He asked quietly. The floating eyes spun faster around the Bokoblins, herding them into a tight group. "Ha, history was changed and they forgot all about my exploits in trying to take over Hyrule. They gave all the credit to Ganondorf," Vaati laughed. "Such a shame, really. I was feared! Now what am I? No one important in my opinion." He turned to the fairy that was flittering in agitation. "The people of Hyrule still think I'm a hero, do they?"

"Vaati, what are you talking about?" the fairy whispered. "You saved Hyrule from evil, didn't you? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me now," Vaati chuckled. His face turned serious as his entire silhouette turned black and his figure began to shift shape. Daeia slumped to the grass in terror-stricken disbelief as a winged monstrosity took the place of the wind sorcerer. A slender gold band striped the middle of the black sphere, and it slowly split open to reveal a blazing malicious eye. It's deep, bottomless pupils contracted as Vaati's voice resonated in their heads.

"_Everything was wrong with me when I was with Link." _The eye began to flash with seizure inducing frequency and the voice became increasingly malevolent. "_I was tired, frustrated, and stressed. Whatever I thought then, whatever I did then, were the results of a weakened and confused mind. I realize that now. I was going to dwell on this idea some more until you bumbling idiots came and pulled me into your mess."_

Time seemed to stop as the eye glowed a brilliant blue. Daeia could catch the horrified expressions of the Bokoblins, some with their sinewy arms raised above their faces in a hopeless attempt to defend themselves. She could catch each movement of Fey's wings, and she could see the little sparks of magic jumping around the eye's pupils. There was no sound.

Then, everything exploded at once in a terrific display of sparks and debris. Daeia was only protected by the leathery wings of the sorcerer's most powerful form as chunks of rock and dirt bounced harmlessly off an invisible force field around the eye. After the dust had settled, there were only a few mutilated stragglers left from the Bokoblin trackers.

"_Pathetic_," Vaati spat. A wicked arm emerged from the eye and slammed the remaining monsters into the ground. He tossed a few away into the night and the defeated wails vanished away as they were sent flying.

All this time Daeia and Fey watched in awe-struck terror. Vaati spun in a lazy circle and narrowed his one eye at them before huffing away into the direction of Labrynna. "_Are you coming or not_?" he asked as he floated on his way. He didn't wait for an answer and left the two sitting stunned on the cool grass.

Fey was the first to recover. Her wings sharply propelled her after the retreating eye and she circled around the sorcerer in frenzy to get him to stop. The fairy had a suicidal talent of being annoyingly unafraid of dangerous characters like the wind mage. Ignorance is bliss, they say.

"HEY! Wait up, Vaati. Hey! LISTEN! You're leaving Daeia behind!" The fairy hesitated a little when Vaati whirled around in a frightening speed and glared with his colossal red eye. Still, she wasn't fazed enough to stop talking. "And what was that whole thing about? Yeah, we appreciate you saving us but you didn't have to go out of your way to scare Daeia like that. Did you see her face? She was scared to death. The least you can do is to wait for her, and can't you turn back into your normal form so you don't scare her anymore? Come to think of it, Link never mentioned anything about you being able to turn into this…this…thing. And _another_ thing, I forgot to mention this earlier, but I still think it was unacceptable of you to steal from the people who traveled along the mountain you were on. You're probably going to say something along the lines of needing something to eat, or maybe in your case you thought it was fun or whatever, but the people in Ruso talked as though the mountain was haunted. You were practically an urban legend! Stealing though…that's just low. Some Hero _you_ are. And _another _thing – "

"_Good goddesses, can you just shut up? You talk too much,"_ Vaati said in exasperation. He dropped his menacing aura and a look of tired annoyance came over the eye instead. "_Do you actually want me to turn you into stone? I'd actually kill you if I didn't think I might need your help in finding Link or keeping Daeia company so she wouldn't annoy me instead_." The red eye swiveled over to where the fairy was. "_Though I am very tempted to kill you right now." _

"There are better ways to get what you want than threats," Fey chided. She ducked as Vaati's clawed hand shot out above her. "You're so violent. Are you really _the_ Vaati that helped save Hyrule with Link? And I sometimes wonder what kind of upbringing you had."

Vaati snarled and sent a powerful gust instead, sending Fey spinning out of control back towards Daeia who was still frozen where she sat. The movement caused the girl to jump in surprise, and she hastily got to her feet staring at the sorcerer with timid fright.

"_The Vaati you're thinking of is not the same as the Vaati you see now. The Vaati that traveled with Link was confused. I see clearly now."_ Vaati stated almost to himself. The eyes never lie, and Fey could swear the huge eye that was staring them down appeared as confused as ever about life. The sorcerer abruptly turned around and began to move towards Labrynna again, muttering to himself as he changed back into his Hylian form.

"Crazy fellow," Fey said under her breath. She turned to Daeia who was squeezing the corner of her dress with wide eyes. "Come on Daeia, let's keep going." The fairy watched Daeia tilt her head towards her and then towards Vaati. "It's all right. I don't think he'll hurt us," Fey tried to reassure even though she herself didn't know if this was true or not. Still, Vaati was the only person they could rely on to find Link at the moment so they had to take it on faith that he wouldn't hurt them.

Daeia nodded slowly and they both began to follow the sorcerer towards Labrynna.

XXXXXXXXX

"Give us two rooms for the night," Vaati told the innkeeper of the small village they had passed. He dropped several stones he had enchanted that held the illusion that they were rupees into the innkeeper's hand. The innkeeper counted the fake rupees, raised his eyebrows in satisfaction, and pointed the travelers to their rooms. Vaati prodded Daeia with his foot; she had fallen asleep in exhaustion the moment they had arrived at the village. "Come on, you can't sleep on the floor."

Daeia groggily rubbed her eyes, and then rapidly shrunk away from Vaati. She was still afraid of him.

"Hmph. You can if you want to, it's not like I care," Vaati shrugged. "Your room's the one on the left. Don't come to me if you need anything; ask your annoying fairy friend or someone else instead. Or you know what, figure out how to solve your problems yourself."

Daeia watched Vaati yawn and shut the door to his room behind him, the door closing with a _click_ as the lock bolted. After a while, she stood up and took several steps towards the door of her room. She reached up and touched its knob, but then stopped and stood still. Her gaze wandered around the inn and she found herself alone as the innkeeper had retired elsewhere, no doubt to count his money. A feeling of homesickness began to creep up.

_Mommy was right_. The image of the gigantic black eye with its red glare resurfaced. _I really was spirited away by a monster._

"Let's go get some rest, Daeia. Vaati's going to make us walk more tomorrow," Fey nudged. The fairy was beginning to become worried by Daeia's determined expression again. "You're tired, you need sleep."

The girl reached into her bag and brought out something in such a way so Fey couldn't see what it was. Daeia's next words sent foreboding chills across the fairy's wings.

"I'm sorry Fey."

"Daeia DON'T!"

Daeia capped the bottle tightly and stuffed the trapped Fey back into her inventory bag. She took one last look around the inn before she made her way to the exit and stepped outside into the icy autumn wind. _I'm going to solve my problem myself._ _I'm going to find daddy._

OXXXXXXXXO

* * *

fleets: Isolation isn't good for the head...as Vaati demonstrates.

**Diablo1123**: Oracle of Time :)

**JeanneAndHerAlters: **Fairies are fine when they don't talk. Fey, however, talks people's ears off...

**Astral S. Kepeire**: Of course. :D Vaati needs difficulty or else everything will be boring for him (Vaati: not true you liar!)

**Peka the Corsair: **No, I don't like letting Vaati get things his way :P Thanks!

**Reily96: **That'd be so funny. I wonder if some of them actually submit stuff even.

**I luv Vaati: **This time, she was scared out of her wits :P

**Rune Caster: **No worries! Thanks for r&ring. :D haha yeah, poor Vaati.

**mpalmer89: **Thanks for the review! We'll see, we'll see ;)


	8. Naive

fleets: Ugh, it's hard to have a life and write this at the same time...Oh, I also did a rough chapter count for this story and I have a horrible feeling it's going to be longer than BC. Oh no...

DEVIANTnews - Go check out Astral S. Kepeire's deviant art site! She's actually started working on a doujinshi version of Beyond Centuries! Go go go! Thanks again, Astral! (if you have trouble finding her, just go to my profile, hit "homepage," and find the link for astralstonekeeper somewhere on my dev page. Or maybe she has a link to her dev page on her homepage....I forget. Yes, I'm sending you on a scavenger hunt).

* * *

**Chapter 7: Naïve**

_What am I doing?_

_Trying to get the Triforce, stupid. _

_I know that, fool, but the last three times I tried to get the Light Force things didn't work out too well. _

_Ha, but this time it's a little different. _

_And it took, what, three times of near death experiences to figure that out? Idiot._ Vaati shook his head and interrupted the argument that was going on in his imagination. Calling himself names wasn't going to get him anywhere.

He wished that Daeia hadn't showed up so he could have continued to have a slow, dull life where he could do whatever he wanted at his own leisure. He'd had enough excitement for one life (_but then again, I've had three_).

_Shut up._

_But I won't. And I know I won't because I've already made up my mind and I'm absolutely in love with this idea. I agree with me, don't I?_

_Look, can't I see I'm sounding like a madman? Having a conversation with myself is not a good sign._ He paced around his room. _But yes, this is going to work this time and I'm not going to pass this chance up. I know it. _

_Good._

Vaati stopped in front of the dusty mirror and looked at his reflection. Even though he had spent the past several years in the mountains he had made sure he looked respectable. He admired himself for a minute before he continued to pace once more. The arrival of Daeia had given him a one shot chance to steal the Triforce, and if he knew Link this entire plan would be hilariously easy: tedious and at times annoying, but easy. _But what will I do once I succeed?_

_Does that even matter?! It's the goddessdamned Triforce!_

_Say I succeed and then I don't know what to do with it. I would've wasted a lot of time. _

_It's not like I have anything interesting to do right now._

_Well…I won't deny I'm a little bored._

_Hence I'm talking to myself. _

_Thinking. I'm thinking. _

_I'm glad I'm still capable of thought. I was beginning to fear I was starting to sound a little like – _

_DON'T I DARE THINK IT._

– _Link. Oh crap…_

He stopped abruptly and he faltered as though someone had rudely slapped him across the face unprovoked. After a while, he rolled his eyes and began to walk in a slow circle around his room once more. He was being nonsensical, and he figured he should get some sleep. Vaati glared at the faded yellow wall where a loud rumbling snore was issuing from. The walls were so paper thin that he could probably whisper something and be heard by someone in the next room.

Come to think of it, he would have expected he would have been able to hear Daeia's screechy fairy at least once in the past hour, but he had heard nothing from Daeia's room. He suspiciously stalked over to the Daeia's side and put his ear against the wall, searching for any noise. Nothing.

Vaati absentmindedly tapped the side of the wall with his fingers as he thought. Was it possible that they weren't in their rooms? Had they suspected something and run away? But no, he was probably jumping to conclusions. The girl and the fairy had been tired and they had most likely gone to sleep the moment he had left them. Daeia had been sleeping on the floor of the inn, even. Still, Vaati couldn't help but think that he might have overdone it when he had scared Daeia and the fairy. It had felt so good to be able to instill so much fear and hold so much power over them that he had forgotten that he needed them to trust him. Oops…but wow it had felt great.

Vaati swooped over to the small table in the middle of his room and snatched up an apple that had been placed there by the innkeeper. He crept out of the door and made his way to Daeia's room and broke the bolt on the lock with a spell. He was going to check up to see if the girl was still there, and if she was, then he was going to pretend that he wanted to make sure she wasn't hungry. If she wasn't there –

_She better be there._

Vaati stepped into Daeia's room. A little while later, there was the sound of an apple rolling away on the floor and hurried, panicked, and angry footsteps dashing out of the inn.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_The fools, where did they go?!_ Vaati cursed himself for his earlier behavior and for not checking up on them earlier. Daeia had been tired so she probably hadn't been able to get very far, but it would be obnoxious to say that it wouldn't be difficult to find her. Vaati wished he had taken the time to learn a tracking spell. Highly visual spells (_amongst other things – _he added) were his specialty: he'd only held interests in flashy spells that could blow things up with flair.

Vaati floated up into the air and looked down onto the rolling field, hoping to be able to spot some movement that indicated the location of the missing girl and her fairy. He took a glance at his hands and considered for a moment to set some of the woods to the west in flames so he could have a little light to work with, but he figured it was too close to the inn and that it would just give him too much unneeded attention.

He put his hands over his mouth as he repressed another drowsy yawn, and he began to circle the air like a hawk. The sorcerer finally caught sight of a travelling party a few miles outwards. Their torches bounced in an unnatural way, and they dashed and stopped as though they were sneaking away.

_They're going to answer some questions from me_, Vaati thought as he warped to the unsuspecting party.

XXXXXXXXXX

Daeia looked wildly around her as several Bokoblins half-carried and half-dragged her across the plains. The rope around her wrists was starting to scrape into her skin, and she could feel them starting to sting as they gradually cut her up. She tried screaming, but she stopped when she realized that nothing could be heard through the cloth that tightly covered her mouth in a suffocating bind. She was tired, frightened, hungry, thirsty, and she wished she hadn't decided to leave Vaati. Terrifying as he had been, he hadn't tried to hurt her yet unlike these monsters that had kidnapped her.

She squeezed her eyes shut as a mixture of dirt and tears formed on her eyes. Why had she been so stupid? Even though Vaati had been mean and scary, he had saved them twice and had been daddy's friend! What made her run away?

Daeia's head bumped against the ground as the Bokoblin that had been carrying her crouched nervously and slowed to a standstill. She winced, and then dared to open her eyes to see what was going on. _Are they going to eat me now?_ She thought.

There was a flurry of blinding flashes, and chaos ensued as the Bokoblins began to screech and run wild in panicked frenzy. Daeia felt herself violently seized and she realized a few of the monsters had grabbed her and was attempting to run off away from the magic. She was dragged a little distance away from the commotion before a blast hit right above her head and at the monsters that held her, and she watched, horrified, as they disintegrated into dust.

The last thing she remembered before she fell asleep in exhaustion was someone breaking her free from her binds. _Is that you daddy?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Daeia felt a weird, tingly sensation along her wrists, which caused her eyes to snap open in surprise.

"Hold still," the ever-irritated voice of Vaati said. "I'm not too good with healing spells so try not to move. If something goes wrong, it's your fault."

Daeia obediently sat still as she watched Vaati complete the spell on her wrists. They had suffered some pretty nasty rope burns, but by the end of the spell she couldn't tell anything had happened to them. She noticed that it was already the afternoon and they were back at the inn in Vaati's room. There were dark circles under the sorcerer's eyes.

"Hmph. It's done." Vaati stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. Daeia shrunk away a little, knowing she was in trouble. Daddy had usually done the same thing when he was about to scold her for something. "Why in Farore's name did you run away all by yourself at night? That was the dumbest thing I've ever heard anyone do before." The mage growled. "Though, being Link's daughter it shouldn't surprise me that you'd inherit some of his idiocy."

"I'm sorry," Daeia whispered.

Vaati watched her hang her head with a not too amused expression. "You didn't answer my question. Why did you run off?" Daeia began to sob. Vaati scowled and turned away. "That's not going to work on me. Stop it, you're going to make everything disgusting with your tears and your snot all over the place." He walked in a circle, unsure of what to do, and then ripped a piece of cloth from the curtains and tossed it over to the girl who took it and cried into it instead. "I promise I won't be mad at you if you'd just explain to me why you decided to be stupid," Vaati said through clenched teeth. He tried to make his voice as gentle as possible, but being someone who wasn't used to dealing with little children, it came out in a strange waver.

Daeia sniffed and dried her face with the dirty piece of curtain. "I'm sorry. I was," she took a deep breath, "I was scared of…you." She kept her eyes on the cloth, afraid to see how the sorcerer would react.

"Hmm," Vaati nodded thoughtfully. For the first time she had been with him, Vaati's hardened expression softened if only for a little bit. He made one lap around the room with his red gaze on the floor before he came back to the bedside and sat down. After an uncomfortable pause during which Daeia nervously shuffled her feet together, Vaati seemed to reach a conclusion. Even though he failed miserably, the girl could tell the wind mage was making a genuine effort to be nice. "You know," he began, "you should be scared of me, and you're right to be scared."

"Then why are you daddy's friend?" Daeia asked the cloth.

"I'm not. I never was," Vaati stated simply. "I don't know what gave him that crazy idea. To be perfectly honest I wanted to kill him."

Daeia fiddled with the cloth some more. Why would he save her then? He'd saved her three times now, and yet he insisted he was a bad man. Bad people wouldn't save others. Bad people wouldn't be with daddy. Daddy got rid of bad people. She finally looked away from the cloth and stared straight at Vaati.

"What?" Vaati asked, slightly unnerved. The stare the girl was giving him seemed too mature for her age: if anything, she seemed to be searching for his soul.

When Daeia looked away again, she held a smile that reminded Vaati of the irritatingly naïve grin Link had always given him. Her shoulders relaxed and slumped against the pillow and she let out a small giggle. "You're a liar."

Vaati shot up from his seat. "You dare call me that you little pest?" he snarled. The sorcerer was silenced in surprise when Daeia gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you for saving me."

"Ugh, get off me!" Vaati hissed as he wrenched her away. "Good lord, you're no better than your daddy." He stormed out of the room glowering angrily about how he was going to leave for Labrynna within the next six hours and made his way outside for a breath of fresh air. _You and your kind._ Vaati thought sourly. _Goddesses, I HATE you Link. _He warped himself to the top of the inn's roof, curled up, and fell asleep muttering curses at the Hero of Time.

OXXXXXXXXXXO

* * *

fleets: Well, she's not Link's little girl for nothing.

**Astral S. Kepeire**: She _should_ stay away. Seriously, kids these days... Oh, I'm so so so excited about how the doujin is turning out btw. I've been waaay too busy to reply to anything on the dev site so I'll get to it when I regain valuable time.

**JeanneAndHerAlters: **Poor Vaati indeed...no one seems to respect him...

**Reily96: **He IS (except the eating people part...hopefully). Hey hey, I want to hug him too. XD And yeah, Fey isn't a character who's going to be liked much.

**I luv Vaati: **What's Vaati without the freaking people out part? :D

**D3athrav3n92: **Yup, it's not easy taking care of a little girl. XD

**Diablo1123: **Yeah. She's a little reckless. :P

**Peka the Corsair: **I don't think Link did a good job explaining how bad Vaati could be...

**Rune Caster: **Yup, he wouldn't want to lose his little prize so easily. You've got to admire his patience XP

**Kindra Mckleen: **Thank you! I try. :)


	9. I am the Wind

fleets: ye goddesses, I'm exhausted (my longest chapter ever). Anyways, I'd like to clear some stuff up before I move along:  
It has been pointed out that the title 'Hero of Time' is really for the Link from Ocarina of Time. I didn't realize until now and I've been throwing the title around quite liberally, but I've figured out how to explain it away: our Link has already done some time travelling ;). He's not the same as the Ocarina of Time Link, but we can give him the title, right? I'm just going to fly with it. Thanks for pointing it out though, **Diablo1123**!

Also, there will be Minish (the language) in this story. I will be using what Nintendo did in the Japanese MC game, which is basically taking Japanese words and arranging them backwards. So blue, "ao" would be "oa" and light, "hikari" would be "irakih," and so forth. Occasionally, I'd take the actual Japanese sounds and make them backwards instead of simply taking the romanized words backwards because it would look better. Awed emijah am uohs!

* * *

**Chapter 8: I am the Wind**

The skies were clear, the wind was refreshing, and the majestic landscape full of gurgling streams and wide open fields would have been enough to make any grouchy cloister want to come outside and enjoy the serene daylight. Except for Vaati.

A dark cloud hung over his head, and he had a feeling he was going to have a bad day. Heck, he was already having a bad day.

"Vaati! Vaati!"

His features barely reacted to the childish singsong voice. "What," he grunted.

"Vaati, why are you always mad? You know if you frown a lot your mouth drips down off your face?" Daeia tugged her cheeks down and demonstrated. She laughed when Vaati scowled even more, and skipped on ahead. "Vaati, lookit, does it look like I'm floating like you can?" she asked as she turned around and balanced on one foot, hiding most of her leg behind a rock. "Vaati, can you teach me how to fly?"

Vaati trudged past her with a look of pure annoyance. He couldn't understand how she had gone from a frightened, timid, and most importantly _quiet_ thing to a chatterbox he wanted to blast into oblivion. If she wasn't so valuable he would've turned her to stone by now just for the sake of making her shut up.

"One," he hissed through his teeth, "you need only say my name _once_. Two, you have the attention span of Fey on _noporih_. Shut up."

"What's no-po-rii?"

"It's…" Vaati hesitated. He shook his head. "It's not important." He glared back when Daeia didn't look convinced. "It's something for grownups only. It's boring, and it has nothing to do with you. You are not interested. You are interested in walking to Labrynna and until we get there you will stay completely silent."

"Okay. Hey Vaati, how long until we get there?"

Vaati gave an exasperated sigh and continued onward, ignoring her completely.

"My word," Fey said to herself as she followed Daeia and Vaati. She didn't know what had happened to make Daeia back to how she had been before Link had been sent to exile, but she guessed it had something to do with Vaati. Still, she couldn't figure out what he had done, because he was as bitter as ever and didn't seem to be making any effort to seem like he cared. Her first shock had come when Daeia had let her out of the bottle and made her promise not to yell at the mage because daddy wouldn't want her to. The only explanation the girl gave her was that he saved her life, and Vaati refused to give details because he didn't want to "waste his breath on insects." For the moment, Fey decided to approve whatever it was that Vaati had done to cheer Daeia up, but she still left room for some skepticism. She didn't think Vaati was helping them for solely humanitarian reasons.

"Vaati," Daeia began again.

The sorcerer's eye twitched. Labrynna was so close, and yet oh so far away.

"Can I call you grandpa Vaati 'cause you're old?"

"No."

"Daddy said you were like, older than a hundred and a hundred and a hundred years old."

"No."

"Can I call you brother Vaati?"

Vaati lost his composure for a second. "That is wrong on so many levels."

"Can I?"

"NO."

"Can I call you uncle Vaati?"

His shoulders slouched as the mage gave up on trying to ignore the daughter of his rival. "I refuse to be called by anything implying I'm related to Link in any way."

Daeia became quiet for a while as she tried to think of a way to overcome this new hurdle. During the short respite, Vaati thanked the goddesses he didn't have faith in. Note: _short_ respite.

"Can I call you Gufuu?"

This time, Vaati completely lost his composure and stopped walking. He turned to face the smiling girl for the first time in a while, his brows knotted in awkward confusion and his mouth half-open, unsure of where to begin. "What the fu…" He winced when he saw Fey prepare to screech. "…the fudge?" he finished lamely (_Why am I letting myself be pushed around by a *(#&$ girl and her #*$%# fairy?!_). Vaati whirled on Fey who was snickering.

"Oh, she's referring to a children's book character," Fey informed as Vaati crossed his arms and demanded an explanation. "The only thing you two have in common is that both of you can use magic. Besides that, there really aren't any connections. I mean, Gufuu's a cheerful little Minish that likes to help people while you're…um…" Fey tried to come up with words as she eyed the unnaturally pale sorcerer with unnaturally red eyes, "er…"

"Everything but," Vaati finished somewhat more venomously than necessary. Fey and Daeia both seemed to be taken aback by the sorcerer's reaction. Vaati glanced at Daeia, and then began to walk again. "It's Vaati," he muttered. The sorcerer himself seemed a little shocked he had overreacted to something so petty.

There were a few minutes of cautious silence, with only the sounds of grass crunching under their feet to fill it. Still unperturbed, Daeia asked the question she had been most eager to know. "Vaati…can you teach me magic?" she said a little timidly. She frowned when Vaati kept walking without acknowledging her. She tried a different tactic. "I promise not to bother you if you teach me…"

Though the sorcerer didn't stop walking, it was apparent that he was considering this offer with the slight tilt of his head towards Daeia. Finally, he spoke. "If you promise not to bother me,"

Daeia perked up hopefully.

"I promise not to kill myself to spare myself from you."

Daeia's face fell. "But I want to learn how to do magic!"

Vaati waved her away. "For one thing, it'd be too much of an effort to teach a klutz like you how to do magic. Also, not everyone is capable of learning how to do magic. Why would you be able to?"

"Because mommy knows how, and she said that one day when I'm grown up I'll be able to do magic," Daeia pouted, offended.

"Well, then there you go. You'll learn when you're older."

"But I want to learn now."

"I don't want to teach you."

Daeia brought herself up to her full height and assumed the regal pose she had seen her mother take when talking to her subordinates. "I'm going to be the princess of Hyrule. You have to listen to what I say."

"I listen to no one," Vaati snapped.

"I'm a princess!"

"No, you're not. You're just a spoiled brat."

"I'll tell mommy you called me names."

"Oh, now? What are you going to do, warp back to Hyrule?"

"You're mean!"

"Of course."

"I…I hate you!" Which wasn't true, but this usually worked on daddy when she told him she hated him. Vaati gave her a nasty smirk, shocking Daeia into quiet. She was used to people giving her sympathetic looks and hugs when she said that, not malicious smiles. She didn't notice Fey telling her talking to Vaati was a waste of time.

"Well I, for one, utterly _despise_ you," the sorcerer sneered. He casually zapped Fey to interrupt her from talking. "Just because I saved your life doesn't mean I like you, you dumb child."

Daeia bit her lip, shaking a little. Hearing that someone hated you hurt, and no one in her entire life had ever said it as bluntly and as coldly as Vaati had done.

Vaati watched, expressionless, at the 6 year old trying her best to stay calm. Tight-lipped, he turned and walked away only to come back with his hands thrown up in the air a moment later. "What is with girls? You can't talk to them for more than an hour without having them cry or scream at least once," ("Shows how you treat ladies," muttered Fey in half-zapped stupor), "You even cry when you're happy! The only thing girls are good for is to stand around looking pretty, but even then you all turn ugly when you cry. Useless!" He paced back and forth before coming to a stop in front of Daeia who was trying her best not to hiccup into sobs. He put his hand on her shoulder and switched to a voice speaking reason, though his face did not suppress his impatience.

"You have no idea what you're saying when you ask me to teach you magic."

Daeia nodded with her eyes on the mage's foot.

"Let's say I taught you how to do this," Vaati said as he gave Fey another shock and conveniently silenced her for the second time as she hit the ground. "If you hit a target, fine, but if you mess up you can zap me, in which case it would do nothing because you won't be able to get enough power in the spell to actually do anything to me, a skilled mage, or you can zap yourself. You can potentially kill yourself, do you get that?" He watched the girl look up. Vaati growled in disgust. "Look, just get this straight. I don't care about you. I'm warning you because I'd have more problems with a rotting dead body than a live one."

Daeia frowned, but said nothing.

"It would also be too much of a hassle for me to teach you anything. Teaching would involve me talking to you, and I'd rather avoid that. I don't like you, remember? Though now I'm not sure how much telling you that would help you considering I told the same thing to your daddy goddesses knows how many times, and yet he still couldn't get it through that thick skull of his that I hate him." He shook his head. "But let's say I hypothetically _did_ agree to teach you. In that case, you'd be too young to do anything. You're inexperienced, you don't know anything about the workings of magic, you're ignorant of its powers, and you'd just be inept. I'd actually have to look out for you and help you on everything because you'd be so bad at it and…" he stopped. _Well, this scene is familiar, isn't it?_ A voice stirred.

_What?_ Daeia eyed him carefully as Vaati became thoughtful.

_I know what._

_I refuse to admit it. _

_I was a true apprentice, wouldn't I say?_

…

_Finally becoming what that old fool 'Master' was._

_I can't possibly believe that._

…_true. But there are doubts. Doubts that I have taken the place of __**him**__. _

_I shouldn't dwell on this. This is ridiculous. _

_Exactly. So prove me wrong and show me that I'm not just another Ezlo. _

_It disgusts me that I should even consider being similar to that fart._

_My thoughts exactly. Now, what will I do?_

Vaati stood up and crossed his arms as he looked to the sky for help. He'd been having these bouts of self-doubt ever since that…that misadventure…and when they came he was never sure about the best way to deal with it. It was as though he had been split into two personalities; sometimes he wondered if he'd become a true nutcase. "You really want to learn magic?" he muttered.

Daeia nodded carefully, afraid of how the sorcerer might react.

"Don't just nod. If you really care, say something," Vaati said sharply.

"Yes," the girl said a little breathlessly, thinking she knew what was coming next.

Vaati narrowed his eyes and stared out to the side before he moved off towards the castle in the near distance, leaving Daeia standing alone, her expression losing hope and becoming more confused with every step that distanced the mage from her. "I'm not going to teach you," he called over nonchalantly when she opened her mouth to speak.

"But…" Daeia stuttered and squeezed her hands together. She thought she'd had him.

Without looking behind him, Vaati put up a single finger up to quiet her protests. "You, dear, are going to teach yourself." Daeia's pout became more pronounced as the mage's finger shook with each syllable in a condescending way. "Now shut up and walk. I'd prefer to get to Labrynna by tomorrow morning."

Fey, who had finally recovered from the multiple zaps from the sorcerer, fluttered over and rested on top of Daeia's head. She didn't really notice the girl trembling a little indignantly. "I really don't see anything amusing about zapping me unconscious," the fairy muttered to herself. She rustled her wings and looked down at the gold curls. "I hope he wasn't rude to you?"

Daeia ignored her, and began to stomp after Vaati rather deliberately.

"Well, would you look at that. We just might arrive at Labrynna by tomorrow," Fey said, facing the outline of the castle. She toppled over when a hand batted her off her view. "Daeia? Did I say something – "

"Fey," Daeia cut her short with a condescending finger of her own. "Shut up."

"Excuse me?!" Fey gasped, flabbergasted. "What did you just say?"

"I said _shut up_," Daeia repeated.

"That's no way to talk to anyone! Did you learn that from Vaati? He's a bad example…" the fairy's voice died down when Daeia gave her a look that matched perfectly with the previous "shut up." Now it was the fairy's turn to watch in shock as the two left her behind. "Princess Zelda and Link won't be happy with me," she sighed dejectedly and hurriedly followed them before she lost them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Think about one thing that you think represents yourself."

Daeia looked up from her work of prodding the charcoals in the fire with a stick she had found. Because they had found no villages they could spend the night in, Vaati had set up a fire inside a force field of wind that kept the surroundings warm. She squinted past the firelight to see if Vaati had said anything; it was difficult to tell as he had decided to sit some ways away from the fire and only his hair and the jewel on his hat caught the flickers of light. He stirred, and the girl dropped her stick and made herself comfortable by the fire, wondering what was up. Fey, still flustered by her charge's previous behavior was curled up in a corner, but even she was listening attentively. Vaati hardly ever said anything to Daeia first unless it was to be mean.

"If you were an element, what would you be?" His voice was contemplative now, and he sounded lost in thought. "I chose wind, or rather, I didn't even have to choose. I _was_ wind." The mage sounded as though he were smiling, revisiting the long dead past. "Independent and free, having no one in the world to bend down to. Wind is its own master…we understand each other…" He became quiet for a few minutes before he seemed to snap out of it, his voice becoming at once cold and sharp once more. "So think of what element you would be."

Daeia tilted her head, not quite following what the questionably sane sorcerer was getting at. "Why?"

Even though she couldn't see him very well, Daeia could tell Vaati had rolled his eyes. "You very annoyingly said that you wanted to learn magic."

"But you said – "

"That I won't teach you."

The girl was completely confused now. "But then – "

"You are going to teach yourself," Vaati said with strained patience. He picked up a twig and threw it into the fire, causing the dying fire to spark back to life. "For the proper way to learn magic, you must know yourself before anything else. Of course, there's the faster and easier way to learn it but I'm not going to tell you the easier way because then you'd need a mentor to make sure you don't blow yourself up and I'm not willing to be one. The best way to begin is to learn everything about yourself. If you don't know who you are, you won't be able to harness it. This is why I doubt a little girl like you would be able to succeed." He growled, "but since you were so annoying about it, I'm just going to tell you how to do it. After that, you're on your own and you _will_ stop bugging me about it." Vaati glared, "and if I hear one 'thank you' from you I'm going to pop the force field and keep you in the cold, because I am not doing anything that would require your thanks."

Daeia's face broke into a huge grin and she had to catch herself from thanking the grouchy sorcerer.

Vaati huffed. "All right, so just think about what element best represents you. This step isn't to be taken lightly. It's one of the key reasons why most everyone fails to learn magic; not enough people know themselves these days and they end up focusing on the wrong type of magic." He crossed his arms and fell down on his back so that he was facing the stars. "Once you get that part done, you have to recognize it within you. You have to be able to feel it. It's almost the same as taking your essence and giving it form in the external world. It's not something that can be taught, it's something you have to figure out for yourself. We all have the ability to learn magic without guidance because we all have it within ourselves." He gave a harsh laugh. "Though, I doubt you'd have to worry about that step because you probably won't get past the first."

Daeia put a finger to her lips as she thought before she finally clapped her hands together. "I want to be wind too, 'cause then I'd be able to float!"

Vaati scoffed. "Ha, at this rate you'll definitely fail. You don't choose elements because you like it, you choose it because it's _you_."

"Can't I change myself to be wind?"

This time, Vaati angrily propped himself up against his elbows. "Don't be ridiculous," he hissed. "Change yourself? Ha, you know nothing. Would you be able to change yourself into something cold, unrelenting, and fierce? That stops at nothing to reach its goal? Don't," he repeated, "be ridiculous."

"Then I think I'm water." She put a hand in front of her and scrunched her nose together in concentration. After a while, she put her hand back down and frowned. "Nothing happened."

"Of course not, you idiot. Do you think people can just learn magic overnight? I'm not joking when I say the long, proper way to learn magic takes forever." He rolled back down. " 'I think I'm water.' Well, if you're interested, I think I'm grass. Now I wonder why rosebushes aren't just growing around me," he sneered sarcastically. "Oh, that's right, it's because I bloody well know that I don't have a single speck in me that represents a goody-two-shoes earth element. Really, you don't know a smitten about yourself yet. How can you hope to do anything?" He wrapped his cape over himself so that his face was hidden. "Keep practicing if you want, but I'm going to sleep. I say you should try thinking of yourself as 'dirt'; pretty self-explanatory. You might get some results…after a few centuries." And with that, he left the girl by the fire thinking about magic.

Daeia tried a couple more times with different elements she thought she would be, but no matter how hard she tried she could get nothing to work. She even tried dirt, hoping that something would happen.

Fey watched Daeia in intense concentration, and then looked at the sleeping mage. She also doubted Daeia would get anywhere with her new studies because she was just a child, and self-awareness required for magic only came after several years of life. Fairies and monsters were more in tune with the elements so magic was second nature, but for people, they were something they needed to recognize within themselves. She wondered how Vaati had been able to attain magic as he seemed to be one of the most confused people she had ever met. _Unless you know, but are scared of what you see._ She drifted off to sleep. _In that case, maybe we can afford to trust you?_

OXXXXXXXXXO

* * *

fleets: I'm not sure about that Fey....Anyways, for those of you wondering what "noporih" is, it's basically meth in minish. ;)

**JeanneAndHerAlters: **He's a grumpy little fella :D

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Vaati would prefer that we think she's just painfully ignorant :P

**Peka the Corsair: **Very observant! Keep that in mind, that's all I can say.

**Reily96: **And it's not going to get any better (I think) XD

**D3atrav3n92: **Ohh yesyes, with every chapter, Vaati, you come closer to meeting Link! (evil laugh)

**I luv Vaati: **That sounds like a rather painful way to die O.o - self inflicted asphyxiation

**Diablo1123: **Nice catch on that! I hope I was able to clear it up :)

**Rune Caster:** So true. Shame, really xp

**H-bomber: **We won't know the answer yet, will we? XD


	10. The Unresolved: Triforce Paradox

fleets: (Yawn) oh geez I'm so tired. And stuffed. Curse you, Thanksgiving turkey even though you tasted great (shakes fists)

Anyhoo, here's the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Unresolved – Triforce Paradox**

They'd arrived at Labrynna the next morning. They still hadn't reached the main castle town, but Vaati had figured that they were in Labrynna after he'd passed a sign post with the words "Welcome to Labrynna" etched into it with multiple dents that appeared to have come from something hard hitting the board multiple times. Just beneath it had been the print "Don't Forget to Visit The Local Deku Dealers," the words written somewhat forcefully to make it bold.

Soon after they'd passed the sign, they had encountered a group of Deku scrubs that had eagerly blockaded the forest path: after some so-called diplomatic persuasion, the normally temperamental scrubs had instead eagerly led them through the fastest path toward Lynna Village, Labrynna's castle town. Vaati had also made sure to teach Daeia the proper way to thank the Deku scrubs that had helped them through the forest to reach Lynna Village by midday – Daeia had thrown stones at the scrubs under Vaati's instructions, even though with each throw she became more uncertain about the truth of Vaati's insistence that chucking stones was "the scrub's way of saying thank you." The short monsters had run yelping with each throw, and Vaati had almost cut one scrub's tentacle off with his glowing wind powered stones.

They were currently at an inn in Lynna Village, and Vaati was incredibly pleased that they had finally made it to the main town.

"Good goddesses, I'm thankful we finally made it. With your slow walking I was afraid we would never reach Labrynna. Those scrubs certainly helped save time," Vaati said cheerfully, flipping a fake silver rupee in his hands.

"At least you could've shown some gratitude," Fey muttered. "It's like you make an effort to make people hate you."

"Nonsense. Of course I showed gratitude. It's their fault if they don't take it as such."

"Only a madman would interpret having stones thrown at him as gratitude."

"You obviously don't know Deku culture. They shoot stones at everyone and everything. I was just reciprocating their way of communication." He flipped the rupee again in his hand and then slapped it down onto the counter. "Two rooms. You do not know us, you've never heard of us, and we were never in your inn. If you agree to these terms, I'll give you three more of these for every night we stay," Vaati told the ogling innkeeper.

Fey's wings sagged in annoyance as she watched the innkeeper eagerly take the fake rupees. They were only pebbles that Vaati had magically manipulated to make them appear like rupees; in a few weeks they would go back to being pebbles. In the meanwhile, Labrynna would suffer minor inflation. "You're setting a bad example for Daeia, too."

The mage snorted and whirled around. "She's learning important life skills. Now, if you two would excuse me I'm going to go look around town for a bit. Stay here and don't leave the inn. If you do, I'll make sure to hunt you down and it won't be pleasant when I find you. Daeia, if you're bored just keep practicing magic you'll never be able to do. Understood? Good."

"Hey! Wait!" Fey flew after Vaati who was about to leave the inn. She pointed a wing at the girl. "Can you at least find her something else to wear?"

"What? I'm not a babysitter." Vaati cast an irritated glance at Daeia. He reconsidered, however, when he noticed that Daeia's current wardrobe might catch too much attention. Her dress was obviously expensive and high-class, but it was stained with dirt, blood, and grass, and was torn in a few places. His lips flattened. "Fine. Follow me."

"Vaati, are you going to buy me new clothes?" Daeia asked as she hopped after him. She barely escaped being hit by the inn door that closed shut after the mage. She looked from side to side, trying to see where Vaati had disappeared. Labrynna's castle was superimposed onto the sky in the image of grandeur, but it fell short of Hyrule's majesty. The air was a bit more somber here and was a little less lively. There was also the subtle hint of salt in the air as Labrynna was a coastal region, and it reminded her of just how far away she was from home. Daeia heard a whistle to her left, and she quickly hurried after Vaati who was already a good distance away and was tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm going to hand you over to a tailor so you won't bug me while I go do my own research," Vaati said as he made his way around the houses. "Think about what you want."

"Can it be anything?"

"Yes. Now stop talking to me."

"Then I want to wear something like what you're wearing."

Vaati waved his hand absent-mindedly. He wasn't listening. "Do what you want." He stopped a man and asked for directions to the nearest tailor. The passerby arched his eyebrows at the unusual features of the sorcerer and quickly scrambled off after pointing towards one of the houses.

"Now Daeia, why would you want that?" Fey asked. She was getting exasperated by the girl's increasing idolization of one of the nastiest people she had ever met.

"Because that's what sorcerers wear!" the girl skipped off ahead towards the tailor's house, a modest building snuggled between the rows of closely packed quarters. "Come on, Vaati. Let's go!"

Fey and Vaati both grumbled irritably and made their way to the tailor's.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later, Vaati was in the town library.

_Ugh, peace and quiet at last,_ Vaati thought to himself as he rifled through some books. He had left Daeia with a somewhat flustered tailor, ordering the scrawny little man to make whatever the girl ordered. Vaati had given him one of his fake silver rupees and had promised five more after he came back to relieve him of the girl. He had also lightly threatened him to be finished by sundown.

He didn't understand why Daeia seemed so happy about her new clothes. A hunch told him that he would be more annoyed with the girl when he returned to get her, but he put that thought aside for more important things. Besides, why would a new set of clothes annoy him? _Blasted subliminal consciousness, making me worry about unimportant things_.

His finger slid down page after page of a tattered old book. He had collected all the oldest books in the library, some of them with spines that were ripping apart and others with titles too faded to be legible.

Vaati growled and tossed the book aside and made a frustrated grab for the next one. He flipped through the pages, and then tossed it again into a growing pile of 'useless' books. So far, he hadn't encountered anything that would help him with his current plan. No, that wasn't the right way to put it. He didn't really have a plan – he only had an idea that was so general that he didn't know where to start. Vaati took a deep breath. _Calm down. Let's go over the idea again one more time._

First off, he knew his goal was to attain all three pieces of the Triforce to get ultimate power. It was a goal that he had never really been interested in before recently because it had always seemed too risky to pull off.

_Ah, but now it's a lot easier because I have Daeia, _Vaati grinned to himself. He doubted that he could take Link's Triforce of Courage forcefully after all his failed attempts to kill the damned hero. With the hero's daughter, however, he could use her as hostage and make him give up the Triforce willingly. So much as a hint of struggle from Link and Vaati could just threaten to torture Daeia before daddy's very eyes. _And then I can kill Link for good._

Vaati hesitated, and then shook his head. _Hm, I'll think about Link's fate when the time comes._

The second piece of the Triforce held by Zelda should be easy to obtain. He could choose to get it before Link's, true, but he wanted to keep Daeia and Fey's small trust in him alive before they encountered the hero. He had also considered getting it first so he could use the power of the Triforce to overpower Link, but he doubted it would work because the annoying brat had been able to kill him three times when he had believed he had supreme power. Zelda's piece was the easiest to get, so he wasn't too worried about it.

The third one…

Vaati tapped the tip of his nose as he stared at the ink-filled pages of the book he was holding. _The third one is going to be…complicated._

The third one was supposed to be held by Ganondork, the fool, but after the Opal Dragon had killed him in the future he had supposedly been rendered nonexistent from history. He still didn't quite understand the reasoning behind this even though Opal and Ganondorf had appeared confident that the reincarnation cycle would end if Link, Zelda, or Ganondorf died in the future. _And that's why I'm currently in a room full of musty old books looking for hints!_ his voice snapped impatiently.

Vaati nodded to himself and began to scan the pages again. He needed to find a book that mentioned something about the Triforce.

_Or maybe even "Biforce" if there're only two now._

Anything. Anything at all that would give him a hint as to what, exactly, happened as a consequence of his last misadventure. He was sure he could handle the old pig (_if he even exists now_) with his magic combined with the two pieces of the Triforce, but what had happened to Ganondorf?

Finally, after another hour of book tossing, Vaati came across a strange entry in the book Ancient Lore and History:

_Each Triforce is representative of one of the three goddesses; Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, Farore, the goddess of courage, and Din, the goddess of power. Legends say the Great Hero and the Royal females of Hyrule to be the wielders of the divine essence, with the wielders reincarnating every generation to be the new vessels of the Triforce. _

Vaati read the passage over and over again before he shut his eyes and tried to think. _What the heck?_ He cursed. _So how many are there, two or three?_ The first sentence hinted that there were three with one representing each goddess. However, the next sentence failed to mention anything about the third Triforce.

Vaati frowned and tossed the book aside, slightly disturbed by the findings. He finished the rest of his pile of books he had collected from the library shelves, found nothing new, and put them back before he walked outside with one hand on his chin. As much as he hated dealing with priests and other divine followers, he decided that if he were to gain any new knowledge he'd have to talk to the people who were most knowledgeable in the field.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ah, so have you come to pay grace to the goddesses?" a white robed priest asked pleasantly the moment Vaati stepped into the goddesses' temple. The entire atmosphere made Vaati want to gag, but he repressed his feelings because he needed helpful information. Perhaps on the way out he could remember to throw up on their doorstep. Or even on the altar.

"I'd like to know about the Triforce," he said brusquely to the priest that had addressed him. "Are there two or are there three?"

The priest cocked his head at the visitor's abruptness. "That's a rather unusual question." He turned to the somewhat obese priest standing next to him who also had a similar look of surprise. "Of course there are three pieces of the Triforce. Even the name has 'Tri' in it."

"But then where are they?" Vaati snapped.

The round priest chuckled, causing the sorcerer to suppress a surfacing glare. "Now now, no one knows for certain where they may be. The three worthy of the power of the goddesses carry the sacred Triforce. My comrade here can tell you the same, isn't that right?" he gave a pat on the tall priest's arm. The taller one nodded, and then his eyebrows began to gradually scrunch together and a look of confusion appeared.

"Wait…but what of Din's power?" the priest thought out loud. Vaati perked up at the mention of Ganondorf's questionable piece.

The fat one continued to smile. "Well, what of it?"

"The gentleman here has a point, dear Saint Blithe. Don't you remember the story of the third Triforce? How Din refused to create her piece lest it be abused?"

Saint Blithe appeared offended. "What? How can you say such a thing? Of course there are three pieces! All three goddesses each created one piece of the Triforce to create a balance between each one. My dear fellow, without one we lose all harmony."

"We should not try to make sense of the desires of the goddesses. I am pretty sure I recall learning that Din was the only goddess who didn't create her representative piece of the Triforce."

"But that is nonsensical! You must have remembered incorrectly. There are three pieces of the Triforce."

"No, I am sure there are only two that exist. I also happen to recall that I am much better at remembering things Saint Blithe."

Color flushed up the round priest's face and he grabbed the tall one by the arms and began to guide him out the temple. "There's only one way to conclude this, my good man. Come, we're going to look this up. I'll show you that there are three, and then we'll see who's better at remembering divine lore." He turned to the pale sorcerer on his way out. "Would you like to come with us? We're going to the library to see the truth to this matter."

"No thank you. I think I have heard enough." Vaati gave a curt nod and glided out before the two arguing priests. He walked in a quick pace around town and tried to get his thoughts together. _Goddesses, something's wrong._ He warped onto one of the roofs and rested his head on his hands.

Ever since he had traveled to Hyrule's future with Link, he had wondered if they were seriously messing up history and time. With each passing day Vaati had become increasingly suspicious that things were too…normal. He didn't know how to put it, but he assumed that after all that mucking about with history, something was bound go screwy someday. Now, he had a growing suspicion that the ambiguity of the Triforce was the first hint of something gone wrong in time. What if the "harmony" the priest talked about was disrupted? What if he was going after something too big for him to handle? What if history could "fix" itself so that…so that he had died at the gallows like he was supposed to have had before Opal had messed everything up?

Vaati closed his eyes and took another deep breath. _For the moment, I won't worry myself over these things,_ he told himself. _For all I know, it's nothing of concern. _The sorcerer clenched his fists tightly. _All I'm going to focus on now is to get the first piece of the Triforce, and that means I have to find Link._

OXXXXXXO

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A.N. : kk, so, you'll be confused if you don't remember some stuff from the BC stories. Some of the things Vaati talks about is paired with Ganondorf's talk in the last chapter of Cursed Sorcerer.

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Thanks! Glad the chappie worked out. :)

**JeanneAndHerAlters: **Oh noez, someone save us from noporih selling fairies! xD

**Reily96: **Gotta love the crazies (gets weird looks). Erhm, anyways, good luck with NaNoWriMo.

**D3atrav3n92: **Vaati's gonna get a whupping from Link! Bad Vaati, Bad!

**I luv Vaati: **Vaati is confuzzled. I kinda have an explanation for Vaati being able to "learn" magic that I was thinking of writing about in the prequel (if I ever get to it....grumble). It's not going to come up in this story, so I'll just give a hint and say that it has something to do with a passage in Cursed Sorcerer's "dying Vaati monologue." ;)

**mpalmer89:** Yep. Last thing Vaati wants is to be like "the old fart." :)

**Peka the Corsair: **Yaaay, my explanation made sense! :D

**Rune Caster: **No need to be sorry! Thanks for reviewing. Jeral?? (goes to see who Jeral is).


	11. Remembered Still

fleets: More questions than answers may arise from this chapter...sorry. Please be patient - the questions (some) shall be answered in the next installment. ;)

Also, please visit my homepage if you'd like to see Daeia's new outfit :D

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**Chapter 10: Remembered Still**

"I swear, sir, I only did what you asked…or what the little missus asked."

"Don't you have any common sense? I did not ask you to get her _this!_"

"But sir, you said I have to make what she asked before sundown. I followed your orders, and I'll have you know that it wasn't easy to make since what she asked for was so…unconventional."

"It's bloody conspicuous! We won't go more than three steps before curiosity seekers come flocking around us!"

"Actually, sir, she wanted the kind of clothes you were wearing. And um, I think the look fits her well."

Vaati snarled and swiftly turned his heel on the scrawny man that was wringing his hands together in worry. The tailor didn't know much about his customer, but he didn't seem to be the type that should be crossed. He glanced from the girl who was sitting on the countertop with her legs dangling carelessly to the pacing man. "You did ask me to get her whatever she wanted…" the tailor tried again.

The sorcerer stopped pacing, and slowly faced Daeia who was feigning interest in the carpet pattern. Her new wardrobe was in the same shade of purple Vaati's tunic was, and she even had a new pointy hat that was similar to the mage's. The sleeves were thick in the style of a mage's robe, with the edges a slightly darker hue like Vaati's sleeves. In the middle of her new dress was a large gold-rimmed crimson eye that was reminiscent of Vaati's final form, and she also had a light shawl that was analogous to Vaati's cape. Everything about it just screamed Vaati.

She looked up when she noticed Vaati glaring at her. "He made what I asked for. I want to be an appent, appriti, appetr – "

"An apprentice, Daeia, an apprentice…" Fey said dejectedly. The fairy was curled up in a ball by the windowsill. She appeared defeated and tired, probably from trying to persuade the girl to choose a different wardrobe and failing.

"Yeah. I want to be an appentrice."

"Daeia," Vaati began, every syllable dripping with irritation. He faltered a little, and then turned his back on the six-year-old who was smiling innocently. He couldn't help it: to be honest, it _did_ feel nice to be looked up to. Vaati decided to take it out on the poor tailor instead. "You pathetic fool, I am _not_ happy, do you understand me?" He walked slowly up to the man, causing him to back up until he was pressed against the wall. "You should know better than to listen to a ridiculous order such as that one."

"Yes sir," the tailor said to the floor. He didn't really care about the rupees anymore. All he really wanted now was for Sir Crazy to leave with the equally eccentric girl. "I'm sorry sir."

The red eyes narrowed, making the tailor feel incredibly small and insignificant. Finally, the menacing customer left unceremoniously through the door while hissing angrily at the girl. "Come, Daeia, we're leaving."

Daeia hopped off her perch, poked Fey to get her attention, and skipped out behind him while waving goodbye to the tailor. "Thank you for making my dress!" she called.

The tailor watched the door swing shut after her in bafflement. Boy, was he going to have something to talk about during dinner tonight.

XXXXXXXXX

Fey and Daeia were awakened by Vaati just as the sun was coming up the next morning. Fey yawned and stretched, and then gently brushed a wing against her charge. It was too early for the girl, and she wondered what all the hurry was for. "Is something the matter?" she asked Vaati.

"We're leaving. Now." he replied flatly. He grabbed the still drowsy Daeia by the wrists and proceeded to half-drag her out the inn past a bewildered inn-keeper. Fey noticed a certain edginess in the mage's demeanor today, and she could tell that he was ill at ease.

The fairy fluttered up next to Vaati. "Is something wrong?"

He let Daeia go, causing the girl to totter a bit, and he snapped his head swiftly to his right and left to make sure no one was around. At this early in the morning, only the silence filled the streets. "No. I've got everything under control." He glowered at his next words. "I need assistance to track Link, however. I never bothered to learn a tracking spell, and I can only think of one place to go to for help. I'd also prefer it if we could find him quickly so as to not waste time." He whipped his hands around and the surroundings suddenly blinked and changed so that they were no longer in Lynna Village.

Fey circled around to reorient herself. They were surrounded by foliage, and the deep shades of green blocked off the sun that was still rising weakly up the horizon. She felt Daeia step closer to her in unease.

"I've warped us back to the Deku forest," Vaati said, anticipating their questions. He stalked off away towards a rotting stump and circled around it like a hawk before finally coming to a halt. Fey and Daeia watched curiously as the sorcerer began to chant something in a strange tongue. After ten minutes or so, Vaati stopped the incantations and stared thoughtfully at the stump. The two onlookers exchanged glances at each other when the mage sat quietly for another five minutes with the stump sitting just as quietly in front of him. Fey wondered if Vaati was embarrassed by what appeared to be a near epic fail.

"Um…what are we trying to accomplish?" Fey ventured carefully. Vaati hardly looked up as he stared intently at the stump. He looked lost in his own world. The fairy cautiously fluttered closer. "Anyone home?"

Vaati grinned weakly, still watching the center of the rotten stump. Fey heard a strained chuckle. "Ha, for all I know they're probably all dead." He reached out and swirled his hand over the stump, seeing something only he could sense. "The activation spell worked. Will portals open even if they're gone?" he asked himself thoughtfully.

"Who're they? What's with the stump?" Fey asked impatiently. She was startled when Vaati shot up from his sitting position and suddenly jumped on top of the stump. He closed his eyes with his face a mask of disgust before he sighed and looked up at Fey and Daeia at last.

"Daeia, come over here," he beckoned with his hand. Daeia obediently approached and hesitantly took his hand as she climbed onto the stump as well. "Keep Fey under your hat," Vaati ordered.

"Vaati, what's going on?" Fey asked. She was covered in darkness when Daeia popped her under her hat. She heard the slightly muffled voice of Vaati chanting more spells from beyond the fabric of the hat. It was a rather long chant, and she couldn't help but wonder what language it was in. She'd never heard of a language like the one Vaati was speaking in – she giggled a little because it made him sound squeaky.

"_Rewa wo ukasiihc nishneh eamatihs. Asuk iroy ukasiihc, ira iroy ukasiihc, rewa on ichiad in iroy kukachi!" _

Fey heard Daeia gasp, and she could feel the air shift outside the hat. Vaati repeated the words several times and didn't stop until the noise of the wind died down. After a while, a crack of light escaped from under the hat and Fey was let out from under it into startling scenery.

The musty scent of rotting wood permeated the air, and Fey saw to her surprise that they were standing on top of a gigantic mushroom the size of a tree. Upon inspection, the fairy noticed that they were within some circular chamber made of wood. Vaati nonchalantly whisked them down onto the earth that was riddled with boulders and ordered Daeia and Fey to follow him, giving them no time to take in their new surroundings. The three stepped out of the wooden walls through a splintered crack, and Fey nearly jumped in shock when she finally realized what Vaati had done.

He had shrunk them. Blades of grass formed a dark forest, and the tangled blades blocked their progress. Fey watched Vaati scan his surroundings until his eyes rested on a dirt path that was oddly devoid of grass. It led in a neat straight line ahead as though someone had been keen to make a path through the dense foliage. Vaati shifted uncomfortably and then took a step towards the path. "Follow me."

Fey trailed Vaati and Daeia as they trudged along the dirt path that became increasingly wider as they progressed. She fluttered onwards, and she noticed a queer tingling sensation along her wings as they moved further along. She really began to wonder where Vaati was taking them; she recognized the feeling as that of something magical.

Fey almost ran into Daeia and Vaati when the mage stopped abruptly in his tracks. She peeked around his shoulders and saw to her surprise a gathering of beady-eyed mousy creatures. They were clad in strange leafy ponchos with their long paws and feathery tail sticking out from underneath. They could have been described as cute except for the fact that they were all wielding a weapon of some sort, and none of them looked too pleased to see the trio, especially Vaati.

The one that appeared to be the leader stepped forward and pointed a sharp spear at Vaati. "Irigaru nomo! Arasami nina inihs atik?"

Fey recognized the creature's language as the same as the language Vaati had used to shrink them. She saw Vaati break into a malicious grin as he began to converse with the creature.

"Adnan, areamo reo no toko wo ureteobo no ka? Ishireu zo." (Hm, so you fools remember me? I'm pleased to hear that.)

"Urerusau ekaw oradian, Vaati! Amasik wa omiakin Hyrule wo imayaruk ni etishoto… rewa wa ikiagan urus nomo chita da. rarewa Pikori wa omedamusti amasik no ruwa wo zonairesuwa." (We will never forget your deeds, Vaati! Twice you pulled Hyrule into darkness…we live for many years. The Minish will never forget your wrongdoings.)

"Twice! Of course you wouldn't know of the third!" Vaati began to laugh maniacally. "Nice to know at least my other two exploits weren't erased from history!" The Minish tensed and held their weapons closer as they wondered what Vaati was laughing about. After the mage calmed down, he began again.

"Maa edokok ettat usanah omiroy irukkuy ettawus atishanah aguoh uoradii. Awustij ojonak no inemat owekusat etemotom atik. Urawotok otok wa uoradian?" (Well, why don't we go somewhere more comfortable to talk instead of stand here? Actually, I came here on behalf of this girl here, and she needs help. You wouldn't refuse to help her, now, would you?)

The Minish with the spear looked at Daeia suspiciously. "Nadon ieknak de oshsi ni uri?" (What's her relation to you?)

Vaati couldn't stop himself from grinning, thinking about the Minish's response to his answer. "Ojonak wa gitsu no Hyrule no emih sa." (She's Hyrule's future princess.)

All the Minish froze and turned their heads to the girl. They watched Daeia shyly hide behind Vaati under the uncomfortable staring. The Minish immediately began to murmur amongst themselves. The leader shook his head. "Osu da…" (She can't be…)

"Otnoh sa. Aroh, irukkuy uosanah akianaj. Iapmish anurus, ruwa wa ianihs. Shimo atishorok aberek ukkot no ishakum ni aramasik wo ukustikay asuretihs." (It's true. Let's go sit somewhere to talk. Don't worry, I'll behave. If I wanted to kill you bastards you would already be burning in flames by now.)

Vaati's grin disappeared as he took a menacing step towards the Minish leader. "Omed adiosi aguoh ozii. Ustam no wa etagin anarakad. Ishianah wo ianakik ki rana amasik no icham wo etishek uray. Eterusaw ian orad, reo no icham ga uod attan ka?" (But you'd better hurry and make up your mind. I don't like to wait, you see. If you have no interest in listening to my request, I'll destroy your little village. You haven't forgotten what I did to my own village, have you?)

He burst the Minish leader's spear in flames to demonstrate his capabilities. The little creature jumped and dropped the spear, shaking his paws and glaring at the sorcerer. The air was heavy with tension by the time the little Minish turned around and signaled his followers to clear a path. "Agatakihs ian. Attakaw. Ioketiust. Ominan ajnurus ozian." (I guess we have no choice. Fine. Follow us. Don't try anything funny.)

OXXXXXXXO

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A.N.: Yes, the Minish language that I have written have actual grammatical rules because I based it off of Nintendo's Minish language (backwards Japanese XD).  
Also, I'm quite aware that people may wonder why Vaati had been able to meet the Minish when it might not even have been the 100th year the two worlds connected. Patience, patience, you'll have answers....later ;)

**D3ath: **The influence worsens...XD

**mpalmer89: **When this story concludes, you'll have all the answers ;)

**Reily96: **Ugh, I hate continuum screw ups. Makes me mad confused, it does...

**I luv Vaati: **I shall attempt to have all explanations by the time this story ends. Hopefully. Don't worry, I get confused too.

**Rune Caster: **Oooh, evil. And well, I can't answer yes or no to that because Vaati doesn't know either. But believe me, the Ganondorf problem is one big screw up I'm going to have to work extremely hard to work out...

**Astral S. Kepeire: **I think I've figured it out. Of course, there are a couple of speed bumps but I think I can fix them up. :)

**nintendomerlin-64: **How does he know indeed? I might write about it in the prequel I'm planning ;)

**Peka the Corsair: **You're not the only one who's confused. It took me a good two days to get everything together, and even then it was only in the vague general sense...No worries though! I think I'll throw in answers here and there as we move along.


	12. Meeting the Elder

**Chapter 11: Meeting the Elder**

"Inannos soku ukakich ni anustat…" (Don't stand so bloody close…), Vaati snarled as the circle of Minish escorts edged closer around the threesome for the umpteenth time. He held up a threatening hand and the circle widened.

The Minish that had acted as the leader twitched his nose in disapproval. "Amasik wa uoynish uriked nomo wade ian. Yuuji ni irishah uresawam ka." (You can't be trusted. You'd be a fool to think we'd let you walk wherever you please.)

The escorts cringed as Vaati let loose a nasty cackle. "Kaba ga. Aginan otuoyihs ishatau wo ureremot aknomo." (Idiots. Whatever I decide to do, you won't be able to stop me.)  
He concentrated on the hand he had held up before him until they glowed a faint blue. Vaati smirked as the leader hesitated and then flung his hand to the side. A bewildered Minish who was standing next to him was tossed backwards into the air, the movement synchronized with the hand.

Daeia and Fey watched frozen to their spots as Vaati and the strange creatures began to jabber in the strange tongue. Vaati was obviously taking glee as the Minish leader gradually became red in the face from anger and frustration. They kept at it for a few minutes until Vaati's face clearly began to show annoyance that they were wasting time. The other escorts began to back off a few feet back as the arguing became more heated. Some brave crowd of onlookers, however, was closing in to see what all the ruckus was about.

"What are they saying?" Daeia whispered to Fey who was sitting on her hat.

Fey twitched her wings: it was her way of shrugging. "I don't know, but I think Vaati is making enemies again."

"Why can't he just make friends instead?"

"I don't know."

"I'd be friends with them."

"You'd be friends with everybody, Daeia."

"Yeah. Daddy said that's a good thing."

"Daddy said…oh…um…of course. Yes, Daddy _would_ say that." Fey shifted uncomfortably on her perch as she continued to eye Vaati and the Minish leader. Vaati began to look like he was really going to blow something up. Fey sighed before she cautiously fluttered over to the mage. "Hey, Vaati! Maybe we should cooperate with them so they'll cooperate with us when we ask for help?"

Vaati stopped mid rant. "What?" he glared.

Fey spun in a circle. "They were taking us somewhere…?"

"They were indeed," he snapped, "but they weren't being very good hosts."

"…and you were being a very good guest?" she asked. She floated past Vaati and hovered just above the Minish leader's nose. "We're sorry about his behavior. Can you continue to take us where you were leading us?"

"Etnan atti?" (What did she say?) The Minish watched her suspiciously and narrowed his eyes at Vaati. Fey also turned to him as she had no idea what he had said.

"Arat arat edianetish ukayah roshi tte onatti sa. Aroh, uoshnet no orokot ni nukieterust roda? Edokok etattust edian ukayah roshi." (She said to hurry the hell up and get going. Look, you were taking us to the elder, correct? Hurry up and take us there.) Vaati said irritably.

The Minish looked from the fairy to Vaati, and then back to the fairy. He shook his head and then held out his hand. "Akerad perapera no uso wo iokettom. Noko seiyou no omishanah atiik aguoh uoradii." (Someone bring some Jabber nuts. We should listen to what this fairy has to say as well.)

He looked to Vaati huffing. "Adnan?" (What?) he asked.

Vaati waved him off with a smug look on his face. "Edota iakuok ometish oznarish." (You'll regret that decision.)

The Minish looked at him questioningly, and then signaled the others to start walking again. "Hmph. Maa ii. Ukakinot noko irigaru nomo wo uoshnet no orokot ni eterust uoki. Noso ineam…" (Hmph. Anyway, we should take this traitor to the elder. But first…)  
He gave a curt nod to one of the escorts who then walked up and gently took Daeia by her arm, leading her away from the group.

"Oi, oyetam…" (Hey, wait a sec…) Vaati bristled. Fey noticed her charge leaving and she hurried off to follow, only to be stopped by a firm paw. The leader looked at her severely.

"Ojonak no ishinah mo uoshnet wa iatikik uorad. Iratuf moto ioketiust." (I imagine the elder would like to speak to the fairy as well. The two of you are to follow us.) The Minish cocked his head in the direction that Daeia had been taken and held up a hand to a malevolent looking Vaati. "Emih no toko wa iapmish anurus. Otnach uodnem wo etim asurega." (Don't worry about the princess. We'll take good care of her.)

"Vaati, what's going on? What did he say? Where are they taking Daeia?" Fey asked, her voice rising in urgency.

"Leave this to me," the sorcerer replied flatly as he began to follow the Minish escorts again. They were walking towards a small lichen covered house at the far end of the Minish village. "I don't intend to leave here without the girl. I'll burn this place to the ground if they don't listen to me."

"Mmhmm," Fey mumbled to herself. She looked around at the houses they passed; some of them so well crafted that they would be impossible to distinguish as a home when observed from above. There also seemed to be a magical field in the air that contributed to the camouflage of the Minish village. Besides the style of the homes, however, everything from the paths to the mailboxes to the merchants walking the streets were identical to any other village she had known. She began to wonder if, now that they were at what seemed to be an incredibly safe haven for Daeia and herself, they shouldn't just remain in the Minish village instead of following the psychotic sorcerer.

Come to think of it, why was Vaati so intent to take Daeia with him now that he had the perfect excuse to leave her behind for some other people to babysit? He used to hate the idea of taking Daeia along. She eyed him suspiciously. _I'm watching you, Vaati. Though Daeia may trust you and though Link may have thought of you as a friend, I don't think you're full of good intentions._ There was the possibility he was good, that's what Link and now Daeia believed; but when it came down to it, what he decided to do was all that really mattered. Fey had promised to watch out for Daeia.

XXXXXXXXX

Daeia made a face after she had been forced to eat the weird red seed the Minish had given her. She hadn't been able to refuse as the young Minish squatting in front of her had shoved it into her mouth after she had shook her head "no" upon seeing the disgusting looking thing. The seed had two knobs on its end that made it look like it was trying to kiss something…

"Yuck."

The Minish began to chuckle, momentarily causing her to pout indignantly between her gags. "Yeah, disgusting isn't it? It's the main reason why it's not more widespread. Otherwise, everyone would just take a bite and we won't have to go through the trouble of learning different languages." It stuck out a paw. "I'm Alta. My dad told me I should stick with you for the time being."

Daeia shook his hand.

"Um…well…mind telling me your name?" he asked after a few minutes of waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Where're Vaati and Fey?"

"Oh, they're off with the elder. That's what dad said." He sighed and looked longingly at the elder's house a little distance away. "Man, I wish I could see what they're up to. Dad wouldn't let me follow him; said that I needed to keep you company or whatever." He jumped onto one of the pebble benches that lined the small park they were in. "I mean, Vaati! He was the evilest Minish in history! I want to see if he's as crazy as they say he is." He stretched. "You still haven't told me your name, by the way."

"I'm Daeia."

"Heh, you _negnin_ have weird names."

She began to frown. Alta was getting on her nerves. Suddenly, however, a name he had said caught her ears. It was a name she had only been told in fairy tales, a name that the big kids mocked. "Wait…did you just say Minish?"

Alta grinned. "Yeah. We _do _exist, you know."

"That means if I catch you, you have to grant me a wish!"

The minish jumped back behind the bench when Daeia took a step forward. "Nuh uh! I don't _have_ to. That's just a story the big people made up."

"Then why are you running from me?"

He scrunched his nose and stuck out his tongue. "I don't want girls touching me. They have cooties. And I'd have big people cooties if you touch me, and those are extra bad."

"I don't have cooties."

"Sure you do. The first thing you learn at school is that girls have cooties. Anyways," he climbed back onto the bench, changing the subject. "I'm surprised you've heard of the Minish before. I heard dad say something about the elders wanting to keep us from showing ourselves to the big people. I heard back in the old days we were allowed to go play with the little big people."

Daeia leaned against a blade of grass that was growing off to the side. "Why can't you play with us anymore?"

"Well, we used to be able to meet the big people whenever we wanted. Then, they made this dumb rule about how we could only visit one day every 100 years. Now we're not allowed to see the big people at all. It's all because of the guy you were with. Vaati. Apparently the elders were so embarrassed that a Minish had caused so much harm that they were too ashamed to appear in front of the big people again." He tilted his head to the side. "Hey, why are you so far away? There's more room to sit here. Look, I'll scoot over."

"But you said –"

"I said there's room to sit. Come on, I want to hear about the evil sorcerer. Is he really not a Minish anymore? Not even our best mages know a spell that can do that!"

Daeia sighed and walked over to the mousy minish boy. She was beginning to understand why all the older schoolgirls she would occasionally talk to outside the castle would complain about boys.

XXXXXXXXXX

Vaati and Fey were taken to the village elder: he was the stereotypical elder complete with the beard, the cane, the cough, and the slightly hunched back. The elder rapped his cane on the floor and the other Minish took a few steps back. In a husky, aged voice he addressed Fey who was still recovering from eating the nasty Jabber nut. "Fairy who travels with this vile man, what is your name, and by what business are you associated to him?"

"Oh wow…I can understand you now!" she jumped. She fell back down quietly when she noticed all the cold stares she was getting from the Minish. "Um, sorry. My name is Fey. I'm Daeia's attendant fairy, and circumstances have caused us to travel with Vaati."

"You had no prior knowledge of what things he had done in the past?"

Fey took a glance at Vaati, and she found she didn't like the way he was grinning. "I heard he saved Hyrule with…wait…Vaati…what have you been hiding from us?"

Vaati exploded in maniacal laughter. "HAhahaha! Hide! Why, you never asked me."

The elder gripped his cane tightly. "Hmph. I see you were at the wrong place at the wrong time then. If you knew who he was and the full extent of his evil, you would never have travelled with him."

"But, but, he saved Hyrule with Link…" Fey said weakly. Even as she said the words, she lost faith in them as Vaati fell into a more severe fit of laughter. The elder gritted his teeth together in disgust.

"I assume he had some other agenda of his own and 'saving Hyrule' was a side-effect."

"How astute. That's exactly what happened," Vaati sputtered between snickers. "Ah, at least someone still has sense in this world."

The elder gave a dismissing nod at the shocked fairy. "You're excused for the time being, Fey. Please find a place against the wall while I take care of this fellow."

"Yes, enough chatter. I've wasted enough time as is." Vaati tilted his head with a mocking smile at the elder who had raised his cane high above his head. The old Minish was no longer hunched over but was standing straight and commanding. "Interesting. What's this?"

"You've been left unpunished far too long, boy. You never got what you deserved for all the wrong you've done." The elder chanted something and a flash of light surrounded Vaati. A magical prism that appeared to trap him in place surrounded him.

Vaati merely sneered. "Tsk. You'd do well not to call me that – I'm older than any one of you fools." He brought his hands up lazily as though he were wondering if he should entertain the elder in thinking he had him.

The elder's hands were grasping the cane so tightly that they had become claw-like. "That's where you're wrong. I knew Ezlo personally, boy, before he took you into apprenticeship. He was a good friend of mine, and I won't forgive what you did to him."

Vaati was so caught off guard by the statement that he couldn't think of any remark to make. For the first time since he had met the elder, he noticed just how wizened and worn the elder was. The Minish were a long-lived race to begin with, but even so this elder had lived for hundreds of years. From the sunken eyes and wrinkles along his face, features rare amongst the Minish, Vaati realized just how old the elder might be. It wouldn't have surprised him now if the elder were over a thousand years old. His red eyes then strayed over to the cane that the elder held. He recognized it. Bloody hell, he recognized it.

The elder was breathing heavily now, trying to keep the spell in place. He noticed Vaati glaring at the cane that had been whittled in the shape of a bird's head. "You remember this, do you not? Of course you do, it was the cane that Ezlo always had with him when he was alive. As his close friend, I, Terrari, accepted it on his dying words." Terrari took a shaky step towards the now visibly seething mage. "You broke him to bits. Ezlo never got over what happened to you – he blamed everything you did on himself."

Vaati let out a hiss; he was no longer grinning. With a smooth arc of his hand, the prism shattered. Vaati chanted a counter spell that shot the pieces of the prism towards Terrari so that they threw the elder across the room and pinned him to the wall. He kept one hand up threateningly to keep the other Minish from intervening. "Pity. So even to his death Ezlo took credit for what I did." He whirled around with menace. "I did not come here to listen to you complain, old fool. I came here seeking assistance with a spell. I've been patient enough with your idiocy so far, but don't test me. Your spells won't stop me: nothing will. Now, show some cooperation and listen to what I have to say or else I'm going to force you to help me." He took another look at the cane again before looking away and muttering under his breath. _Of all the Minish villages I could have gone to…will you never leave me in peace?_

XXXXXXXXX

Daeia took a breath after she recounted everything she remembered about travelling with Vaati. Now that she actually told someone, she realized she had few good things to talk about the wind mage.

"Wow, what a jerk," Alta said after she finished. "Aren't you glad you came here though? You're welcome to stay with us – I'm sure dad won't mind. You won't ever have to be with Vaati again."

Daeia shook her head. "He can help me find daddy." Her legs swung slowly back and forth, unsure or herself. "He's a good person."

"Did you hear yourself talk? He's crazy!"

"He saved my life!" Daeia wasn't sure why she wanted to defend the sorcerer so badly.

Alta sighed. "I don't know. Dad said he used to steal away pretty girls and lock them up in dungeons. How do you know he won't do that to you?"

Daeia just stared at her feet. He had her stumped on that one, even though she was pretty sure Vaati wasn't even remotely interested in locking her up somewhere. After a while of uncomfortable silence, Daeia spoke up again. "He kinda taught me a little about magic," she said quietly.

"Really? Wow, magic from the world's greatest sorcerer," Alta said, relieved that they were changing the subject to something less gloomy. "He must know loads of cool spells. I mean, he even got a spell that could connect our world to the big people's world even if it wasn't the 100th year our worlds connected! I think only a few of the elders know how to do that, and even they have to have tons of preparation to pull it off." He held his chin on his hands and sat thoughtfully for a couple of minutes. Finally, he took two sharp glances to his side before he jumped off the bench and scurried off between the forest of grass. Daeia watched him disappear behind the foliage before she heard a whistle and a paw motioning to follow. She hurriedly ran after the minish.

Once they were well into the grass forest, Alta stopped and took another look around him. After he made sure that no one else was around, he relaxed. "Huh, oh, I just wanted to ask you something where no one would hear," he told Daeia when she looked at him, confused. "See, uh, not everyone gets to learn how to do magic. Actually, usually only one person in the entire village gets chosen for apprenticeship once every ten years so it's really hard to be chosen. I really want to get a head start on it so I'd have a higher chance to be chosen in three years when the sages start looking for new apprentices."

Daeia began to frown. "I don't know – "

"It's against the rules for anyone to know anything about magic before apprenticeship. The sages say it's an unfair advantage and that it makes it more difficult to spot 'natural talent.' I really want to learn, though," Alta trundled on, "and since you said that Vaati gave you tips, I was wondering if you can teach me stuff he told you."

"I follow rules," Daeia said sternly.

"Aw, come on."

"I follow rules."

"Please?"

"No."

"My dad's the highest ranking advisor to the elder. His name's Altari – he's pretty high up there."

"My grandaddy's the king of Hyrule."

"Whooaaa," Alta couldn't help himself. "Good princesses help the commoners, you know," he tried.

"I'm going to be a good princess because I follow rules."

"Silly, you're the princess. You make rules. Come on, pleeease?"

"NO!"

"Fine." Alta began to walk back towards the bench. Daeia watched him walk back dragging his foot a little. The minish boy seemed to have lost some energy in disappointment. She ran up to him, feeling bad that she had made someone upset.

"Hey!" Alta turned around just as Daeia caught up to him. "I'll tell you what Vaati told me, but you have to teach me something too."

"Really? Wow, sure. I'll do anything," Alta said brightly.

"I want to learn some Minish."

"What? But all you have to do is eat a Jabber nut and you'd be fine."

"I want to learn Minish," Daeia repeated.

"All right. Agreed," Alta shrugged. He stretched and made himself comfortable. "Let's get started then. What word do you want to know first?"

OXXXXXXXXXO

* * *

fleets: Mmm, lengthy chapter with not much going on. Therefore, I don't like it so much. I couldn't think of a way to get rid of stuff though because most all the parts have some degree of relevance in upcoming chapters. Even the last segment with Daeia and Alta which can seem unimportant to the plot (at least, I think it seems that way), is pretty much required for the last few chapters I have planned. We'll get action soon enough, I swear!

**Diablo1123: **me too!

**Astral S. Kepeire: **I'm confused on this one. I checked and they said that the door opened every 100 years where the Minish can visit the human world and vice versa...hmmm. Oh geez, your way sounds crazy. I know I wouldn't have the patience to do it.

**D3at: **Kinda. It's not the same as the 'real' Minish because I took Japanese sentences, changed them into English letters, and then made them backwards. Some words I kept it the 'real' backwards Japanese Minish because they were easier to pronounce. Let's take the word 'princess', which is 'hime' in Japanese. The real Minish would be "mehi," but I just made it "emih." Only the words that looked weird (i.e. idiot -- "baka" to "kaba" instead of akab) I used 'real' Minish. ;D

**I luv Vaati: **Ah, he wasn't the elder but the leader of the group they met. Oh man, this segment is longer than I anticipated... D:

**H-bomber: **I'm wondering the same. I surprise myself. ;)

**Reily96: **:D

**Rune Caster: **I miss my MC game and all the little Minish folk.

**Peka the Corsair: **I'm getting the hang of it. Direct translation doesn't really work with English and Japanese though, so people who can read Japanese will find that the dialogue between Vaati and the other Minish are a little different than the actual English.

**Cookiekitten: **I think it's cute, but Vaati doesn't seem to like the idea too much XD


	13. A Glimpse Into His Past

fleets: I'm baaaaaack!!! Be prepared to check back for updates because I plan to do two chapters per week from now until I say 'stop.' Please forgive me if I don't end up following this schedule, but I sure as hell am going to try. Also I'm going to update a couple of things on devart soon, too ;).

* * *

**Chapter 12: A Glimpse into his Past**

"What would you, a powerful sorcerer, need the help of the Minish of Labrynna for?" The elder asked as soon as they were sitting around a table. The atmosphere was still hostile, but at least everyone was now sitting down. "Surely you won't need assistance in magic seeing you know even the most advanced spells – including the one that could break the 100 year ward that prevents beings from the human world to enter ours."

"I'm looking for Link, the Hero of Time." Vaati spat the last words. "I just want you to do a quick tracking spell to locate him. We'll take our leave the moment you find his location as I don't feel like staying here for long."

"A tracking spell? Vaati, the great sorcerer of winds doesn't even know one of the most elementary spells?"

"I never thought I'd need to use it. Frankly, people I thought were worth finding always found their way to me. I don't usually want to make the effort to find people," Vaati growled, but kept his temper. Fey was somewhat surprised that Vaati hadn't exploded at the elder's chiding, and she guessed it had something to do with Ezlo since the former apprentice was glaring at the bird head staff instead. Her suspicions were confirmed when the corner of Vaati's mouth twitched at the mention of Ezlo.

"Hmph. I've heard a lot about you from Ezlo, boy. You never liked to put the effort into learning things – you just expected them to come to you in an instant. If it took more than a day's worth of work to learn, you gave up on it. You shirked your school duties because 'you didn't have time,' though you did have enough time to read books according to Ezlo." Terrari shook his staff at the jeweled hat on the mage's head. "Of course, that hat made things easier for you, didn't it? All you had to do was to wish for things and they came true. Though I find it slightly ironic that the hat granted you the ability to perform all the most advanced spells but skipped over the most basic ones. I take it that you're not very good with healing spells as well?"

All this while, the elder's knowing smile was becoming more pronounced as Vaati's vicious frown was getting worse. Vaati made an effort to keep his voice level. "You're getting senile, old man. Ezlo knew nothing about effort. I knew him better than you did, fool, and all he ever did was to sleep and complain, and then act like he knew everything in front of floor kissers like you." At this, Terrari's eyes narrowed dangerously in offence but he pretended not to hear and nodded for Vaati to continue. Vaati's voice gradually became sharper as he rambled on. "He taught me nothing except that you can't wait for things to happen. You know why I 'shirked' school? It's because I was spending sleepless nights trying to teach myself everything about magic because the old fart never bothered to teach me anything. He had no right in calling himself my master. What a joke. I was the master of myself! I was the one who did everything in that musty shack of his, I was the one who handled the records, I was the one –" Vaati cut himself short when he realized that he had stood up and was drawing curious glances from both Terrari and Fey. He regained his composure and sat back down with as much dignity as possible. "…but that's not the point. The point is that I want you to track Link as quickly as possible so I can leave this goddess awful place."

"Then perhaps it's about time you learned a spell on your own."

"Perhaps it's about time you got your act together and listened to what I say. I did not make empty threats before."

Terrari sighed and shook his head. "I know. We won't be able to stop you if you choose to burn this village, and I know you're capable of doing it seeing what you did to your own village years ago."

"Then do it now! I don't like to wait."

"Ezlo believed you cheated your way to magic, Vaati. Cheated by taking his creation and using it to wish for magic. Why don't you do your good master a favor by showing him you can learn magic instead of wishing for it?"

"One: Ezlo is _dead_ and he's no master of mine. Two: I did not cheat my way to sorcery. I _earned _it. Three: why in Din's name would I owe that bastard a favor? I owe _nothing_." Vaati was visibly shaking in anger now. Fey and the other minish cried out when Vaati blinked to the other side of the table with the elder's neck slammed against the wall. "Don't act like you know what it was like. You don't know anything." He let Terrari fall gasping for breath and made his way out the door. "I want to know Link's location by tomorrow morning. If you don't tell me where he is, I _will_ destroy everything here and move off to another village that is much more helpful than this one."

The elder watched the door swing shut after the billowing maroon cape. He vaguely noticed Fey flitting frantically before his face and apologizing for Vaati, and he half-remembered waving away the other minish that had rushed to his assistance after Vaati's departure. Terrari carefully traced the outline of Ezlo's old staff. His breath caught in quiet frail gasps, another reminder of how long he had lived. How long since he had seen his friend sage. He was busy revisiting a memory he had forgotten.

_Ezlo! What's happened to you?! You look frightfully old, my friend. I lost all contact with you and you haven't even responded to any of my mail. I was finally able to find you when I heard about what had happened at Hyrule, and how your apprentice was all to blame. Won't you come back home to Labrynna? Everyone wants to see you back. I hope you haven't turned into a snooty Hylian Minish haha. Come, come, look at all this clutter. My word, you're turning into sewer rat. When was the last time you saw daylight? Let's get y…what? What is it?_

_Terrari…it wasn't his fault._

_Who? What are you talking about? _

_It wasn't his fault, Terrari. He isn't to blame…_

_Who is it? What's been bothering you? Goodness! Look how pale you are – we need to get you something._

_Terrari, please, sit down and listen to me. You're the only one who'll believe me. _

…_all right Ezlo. _

_It was my fault. Hyrule. Vaati. Vaati became that monster because of ME. Please, Terrari. Tell them it wasn't Vaati's fault._

_Ezlo…_

_It wasn't his fault. I'm responsible._

_Ezlo…you need to rest. _

_Believe me Terrari! I need you to see the sins I've committed. _

_Ezlo you didn't commit any – _

_I killed the innocent little boy and watched a monster take his place! I should have noticed what was happening! I should have paid more attention! I was – _

_Calm down Ezlo! Look, you shouldn't be standing up in your condition. Ah, watch it. See? You're falling over. _

_I wasn't a good master! The boy gave up on me, Terrari, gave up on me! It was my fault he ended up never learning magic and cheating his way towards it! It was my fault he became evil! It was my fault I had to see him fall!_

_Ezlo, you have to realize that what Vaati did was his own decision and that you had no part in it. You tried to be a good master to him, Ezlo, and he didn't accept that. He failed YOU. Look at you now. I won't forgive what he did to you. _

_Terrari…it wasn't his fault…_

Ezlo had died a few days afterwards. Terrari had found his old friend lying in bed with a pained expression etched into his face, and the only consoling thought he had was that Ezlo had died in his sleep. A note had been stuck onto the bird's head cane; it had wished that Terrari be the new owner of the cane and gave him instructions on where Ezlo wanted his books and research to go to. The note ended with four shaky and wobbled words as though the broken sage had struggled to write it. The black letters had dug in deeply into the paper, however, with the determination that it should be the most important thing in the entire note. Terrari didn't know what to think about those four words. No matter how much Ezlo insisted he believe them, he just couldn't think of any way they would be true. It was ridiculous, and Terrari had felt guilty that he couldn't grant his dead friend the trust to believe those words to be true. He felt sorry for Ezlo. The sage had died with a haunting weight on his heart. The words followed: _it wasn't his fault_.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I give up." Alta threw his paws up into the air in defeat. "It's no use. The stupid jabber nut gets in the way."

"Can't you just make sounds that are like Minish? You've been speaking Hylian all this time." Daeia scrunched her nose. "I did my share by teaching you what Vaati taught me. You have to teach me something."

Alta shook his head. "Nonono you don't understand. I've been speaking Minish to you, honest. It's just that the jabber nut makes you hear the language you're most comfortable with, and in your case it's Hylian." He fiddled around with the dirt around his shoes until they formed a pile big enough to kick over. Alta stuck his foot through it in frustration only to cough out the dust cloud. "I guess it's just as well seeing you didn't tell me anything remotely helpful."

"I did! Vaati said that you have to know your true self before you learn magic."

"Well, what the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Daeia crossed her arms in front of her. "Exactly what I said."

"Ha, you probably don't know what he means either."

"Well…" Daeia began, but then stopped quiet since Alta was right. She only had a vague idea on what Vaati meant, but was completely clueless as to what to do about it.

The minish boy laughed. "You look funny when you're thinking." He dodged a weak punch from the girl. "All right, all right! I'm sorry I haven't been able to do anything about the jabber nut problem. You're right. You technically did do your part of the deal even though it was kinda useless, so I should do mine."

Daeia nodded with a smart pout.

Alta jumped onto a rock and scratched his head. He was an awfully fidgety boy who seemed to have the chronic disability to sit still for more than ten seconds straight. After a while of more jumping, shifting, and moving about, Alta finally clapped his hands together. "Hey! I think I've got it! I can teach you a couple of words I learned in the Hylian Minish dialect. Theirs is a little different from the Labrynna dialect and the jabber nut you had here should only work for the Labrynna dialect."

"Really? Teach me! Teach me!"

Alta bit his lower lip in uncertainty. "Um, actually, I only know some words I thought were cool and worth it to look up." He swung his hands down like he was holding a sword. "You know, like battle words."

"Battle words…?" Daeia arched her eyebrows.

"Hey, don't give me that look! I had to learn some so I could speak to my friends in code when we were playing monster tag." Alta became slightly red from embarrassment. "It's pretty helpful if the other team doesn't know what you're saying."

"Fine," Daeia sighed.

"It's the best I've got. Come on, the stuff you told me wasn't even that good either," Alta reminded her. "Anyways, I think I know 'sword,' 'monster,' 'knight,' 'soldier,'…um… 'thief,' er… 'attack,'…um… 'guard'…"

"Teach me."

"Sure." Alta shrugged. "I still don't know why you'd want to learn Minish though."

"It's cool."

The minish boy grinned. "Fair enough. I guess I'd want to know some Hylian, too, without relying on a disgusting nut." He glanced up at the sky where the clear blue was occasionally interrupted by the magical haze of the ward that kept the Minish village hidden from the big people. "Hey Daeia?" Daeia's eyes strayed over to the blurry sky. "Don't forget about us, all right? When you go back to your world can you remember the Minish?"

"Why would I forget?"

Alta adjusted his hat. "I don't know why you would, but I heard that the big people…they tend to forget about us. Now that the elders are actually trying to make us stay forgotten, I think we're going to disappear someday. I don't want us to be forgotten. That would stink." He chuckled. "One day, you're going to come back and teach me Hylian all right? You'll forever owe me one until you come back here and teach me some words. You're not allowed to not come back. I'll be an awesome sage by then and I'll be able to cast all sorts of spells to bug you. In the meanwhile," he shoved her over and ran out of sight into the grass. "You're IT!"

"Hey! Get back here and teach me something!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Fey turned about, unsure of what to do inside the chaotic elder's house. The Minish had succeeded in their task to find Link before the morning and they were currently running about with wads of paper and ink to record the coordinates of his location. Most of them were stumbling over themselves in frenzy and beads of sweat rolled off their noses every time they passed the dark mage. She was glad she had decided to keep Daeia in the hands of the little minish Alta's family for the time being, for she wasn't sure the girl would understand Vaati's malevolent disposition. Sure, Daeia had seen Vaati like this in front of monsters but she wasn't sure it would be a good idea to let her see the one she idolized be so threatening to normal people. Children, Fey believed, shouldn't have to worry and doubt about evil.

Speaking of which, Fey was having serious doubts on Vaati's character. From what she had observed yesterday in the conversation between the sorcerer and the elder, she could only conclude that Vaati was truly evil. Something had happened in his past that had upset him, something more had happened that caused him to do mischief in Hyrule, more somethings had happened that resulted in Vaati saving Hyrule…it was all very confusing…

If only someone would tell her exactly what the deal was with Vaati.

"Fey, may I have a moment?" The fairy turned to the elder's voice. Terrari weaved his way towards her, dodging the working Minish that were explaining to Vaati the location of Link. It was vitally important that the mage knew everything about the area so that he would be able to safely arrive there without the fear of accidentally warping into a tree. Terrari brushed himself off once he got to Fey and pointed towards a corner in the room where it was a little quieter.

"What is it?" Fey asked. She hovered slightly above Terrari's nose.

The elder took a few cautious glances at Vaati who was busy studying the map the Minish had drawn out for him. When he was sure he was out of earshot of the mage, the elder looked to the pale green fairy. "Vaati plans to take you and the little princess with him in search of Link."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea…" she couldn't help but notice that the part of the map the Minish were pointing at was on an unpleasant looking mountain range just north of Death Mountain.

Terrari nodded. "I agree. It would be safer to keep Daeia here until Vaati returns with Link, but he insists that she go with him so she can be reunited with her father as quickly as possible."

"Why do you think Vaati wants to take her along?"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this. Still, we can do little to stop him from having his way," Terrari poked a finger through a hole in his robe that had been the result from yesterday's scuffle with Vaati, "you saw what he was like."

The two remained silent for a while. A little while later, they heard Vaati snap at someone which was followed by an apologetic yelp. Fey stirred. She finally asked the question she had been wondering all this while. "Is Vaati…evil?"

The elder looked down at his feet and took a deep breath, slowly spinning the bird's head cane in his wrinkled hands. "That's a complicated question." His eyes became distant as he stared at the sorcerer. Fey turned to the mage as well. Terrari knew something about the mage; he had lived long enough to know most of Vaati's exploits that Link had omitted in his stories. "Did you know," Terrari whispered, "did you know he used to be quite a charming little boy? Ezlo was so proud of him; said he was the brightest child he had ever met. Ambitious too."

They watched Vaati backing one of the terrified Minish into a corner. The poor fellow had obviously done something to upset the sorcerer. Terrari and Fey flinched when Vaati gave him a vicious kick that sent the Minish crouching on the floor. "What happened to him?" Fey asked. Vaati was far from what anyone would call 'charming.'

The elder shrugged. "I'm not sure myself. Are you familiar with how Minish sages pick apprentices from villages every ten years?" Fey replied she didn't, and Terrari continued. "Well, the sages visit villages around the region to pick apprentices to follow in their footsteps every ten years. It's a highly selective program that only allows the most gifted children to be chosen. There was one revered sage, Ezlo," Fey perked up at the name she had heard many times during her stay, "who everyone across the land were eager to be chosen for. He was the greatest sage of his time. I travelled with him during his visits to villages to help him pick his apprentice and also to help fend off all the desperate parents that wanted their kids to be chosen." Terrari chuckled. "In the end, Ezlo found the one he was looking for in a small orphanage in the outskirts of Labrynna. The boy was shy and quiet, and didn't even come say hello when Ezlo entered the room. You'd think the old sage would have picked one of the more outgoing ones who were anxious to be noticed, but no…he knew Vaati was the one."

"What was he like?" Fey had her full attention on the elder now. She was finally learning something about the mysterious sorcerer's past.

"Vaati was special. I only recognized it later, but Ezlo saw that he was different from the other Minish. There was a glint in his eye that wasn't there in the other children, and you could tell that he was a quick learner. He was one of the gifted ones, and I think he would have gone far even without the help of that cursed hat." At this, Terrari frowned. "I don't know what happened to that boy. He decided that stealing his master's wishing cap would be better than working to learn magic." The elder sighed. "I wish I knew. I wish Ezlo told me exactly what happened between him and Vaati; those two used to get along so well."

The fairy buzzed. "What exactly is the story behind the wishing cap? Why is Vaati no longer a Minish? Who _is_ Vaati?" Fey could hardly contain herself. She was finally getting some answers, and Terrari's description of the mage fit better than the story she had been told about how heroic Vaati had been. The elder had to hastily quiet her down so the mage in question wouldn't overhear them talking about him from the other side of the room.

"The wishing cap was Ezlo's greatest project – something he had been working on the entire time Vaati was his apprentice. It was an extraordinary cap that would grant its wearer any wish. He had intended to present it to the royal family of Hyrule as he knew their hearts were pure, but Vaati managed to get a hold of it and his twisted soul made the cap turn him into what he is today. This all happened well before your time; I've lost count of the years since it was so long ago. I doubt anyone remembers anymore…"

"It's true, the only story we know of Vaati is how he helped Link defeat Ganondorf a few years ago. Everything else has been lost in time."

The elder's eyebrows furrowed in disapproval. "A hero…no, he's far from it. Hundreds of years ago, Vaati appeared as the Sorcerer of Winds to terrorize Hyrule with his new powers. He turned his master into a hat, turned the princess to stone, and set monsters loose all over the region to wreak havoc, all for selfish reasons. He nearly defiled the land into a barren wasteland, and it was only saved after the wishing cap was used to restore it to what it once was."

"Does the wishing cap still work?" Fey wondered. Terrari shook his head.

"I doubt it. The true wishing cap was destroyed after it was used to restore Hyrule." The elder scowled. "I believe Vaati is simply wearing another one that appears similar to it for old time's sake. He's a vain one. I believe the hat also has some symbolic value for stealing it had been a huge accomplishment."

"An evil accomplishment," muttered Fey. "It's not something to be proud of."

"His evil doesn't end there," Terrari continued. "Several decades after the first incident, Vaati reappeared for a second time as a demonic eye. This time he was interested in capturing young women in flights of fancy, caring little for their wellbeing. To him it was only a game. He found the greatest challenge when he decided to target the princess of Hyrule and he reveled in the power he held over everyone. The stories of how he terrorized the villages of Hyrule even reached Labrynna." Terrari paused and let Fey take in everything she had heard. The fairy seemed dumbfounded that such a man had been trusted by Link. Still, if it was between Link's story and Terrari's story, she found it easier to believe Terrari's story. Even Vaati himself had insisted that he was a bad man. The elder looked at Fey. "You look confused."

The fairy hesitated. "Well, yes. It just seems like," Fey took a deep breath, "it just seems like there are two opposing views of Vaati and I don't know which one to believe in. He's good in some versions and bad in others. You say he used to be 'charming' but turned into a monster." She flitted about in frustration. "People don't just flip from good to bad! There has to be something! Or else he'd have to be crazy!" Fey stopped. "…of course, I guess there _is_ a possibility he's insane…"

"I don't know the details of what went on between Vaati and Ezlo, but I think the key lies there. I only got to visit those two a few times after Vaati became Ezlo's apprentice because Ezlo had taken him to a village several miles away from Labrynna. Somewhere near Ruso, I think," Terrari said quietly.

"Ruso?" Fey jumped in surprise. "Ruso…that's where we first met Vaati…" she said wonderingly.

The elder tilted his head. "Really now…that's mighty interesting…" He tapped his cane several times on the floor as he thought. "It appears Ezlo wasn't the only one who had been plagued by old haunts," he mused to himself.

Fey was watching Vaati again, and tried to put together what she had heard from Terrari. _Plagued by old haunts_…She agreed with the elder. Though it didn't help her sympathize much with the sorcerer, it had been apparent to the fairy for a long while that Vaati was troubled. She felt that, ever since they had met him, he was continually fighting a confused inner struggle. She watched Vaati snarl and push aside a Minish spell caster who had helped in the tracking spell. Through the rancor, Fey imagined she saw a glimpse of the person who Link claimed was his friend, the person who Daeia believed in, and the person who used to be the eager Minish who had been chosen for apprenticeship. It was a dying flame that conflicted with the ice cold skin the sorcerer wore.

"You wonder if that Minish boy survived," Terrari spoke, startling Fey. He shook his head sadly. "I used to wonder that too. Something went horribly wrong between Ezlo and Vaati…but I came to recognize that that's a story we may never know."

"Do you have hope at all?"

The elder's eyes darkened and he hung his head. He extended his wiry hands to her so she could see each etch of the wrinkles and veins. "Years have passed and I've grown old. I don't have the power to wonder, let alone hope." With that, he hobbled away, leaving Fey hovering uncertainly by herself as Vaati continued to terrorize the Minish who displeased him. The elder gave her one final warning. "I suggest you don't bring this up. Ever. This is something he has to decide himself."

_And we just have to pray that he lets the long lost Apprentice live, and allows the monster die._

* * *

A.N.: You can probably tell that I was thinking about my next project when I wrote this. It's going to be a pre-MC story, Vaati centric once again. It'll basically talk about why he's so obsessed with power. Of course this is getting way ahead of myself since this current story isn't close to being over. It feels nice to think ahead though :)

We will plow on through to the main plot shortly ;)

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Ah, that works. It was too late to change my explanation though (gah, it would've been way easier to realize your explanation earlier)

**Reily96: **Ugh, hope that went well. Standardized tests are never fun (and especially if they're over 3 hours long). Glad you liked the chapter though!

**I luv Vaati: **She thinks it's cool. Plus Vaati can actually speak it hehe. Oh, and he was glaring daggers believe me.

**Rune Caster: **Actually I _was_ considering making it Ezlo, but I decided to have him dead for more Vaati conflict (i.e. possible guilt or apathy).

**Peka the Corsair: **She's a good kid. She's just easily influenced poor thing.

**H-bomber: **Sit tight and enjoy the ride XD

**D3atrav3n92: **Yup! My 'minish' isn't very consistent though, so it might be hard to catch when I actually use the backwards romanized Japanese or actual backwards Japanese (and I see in the case of "oi, oyetam" it really should've been "io, oyetam"). Nah, I hear our English gives them a headache in turn XD

**Bishieluver01: **I'm so so SO glad you think Vaati's characterized well. I often wonder if I'm getting him all wrong.


	14. Manipulated

fleets: Thank you everyone for your support! We are finally approaching this story's major plot point. :)

* * *

**Chapter 13: Manipulated**

Vaati pointedly ignored Daeia who kept pleading if she could visit Alta and the other Minish one last time to say goodbye. He had told her gruffly earlier that he wanted to leave without bumping into the elder because he knew it would cause delays. He also felt uneasy around the old minish. "You can visit their sorry lot after we fetch daddy," he finally said after her voice had begun to irritate his ears. "AFTER. Not now. I don't want to have to deal with more old men today. Especially old men who remembers things you wish they'd forgotten."

In truth, he wanted to sneak out without telling anyone because he knew the other Minish would give him a hard time to take Daeia with him. It was a delicate matter, as he couldn't use too much violence in front of the girl to persuade the Minish. Her trust was essential to his plan, and though he could risk a few threats here and there blowing the wee folk to bits was out of question because they weren't monsters but (oh gag) 'friends.'

"Can I at least leave a note?" Daeia asked.

Vaati rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just make it quick."

"I don't know how to write…"

"That's a pity. Come, we're going."

"Vaati, can you write one for me?"

Vaati opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Fey. "Vaati, what are you planning to do? You know it would be better to let Daeia stay here until you return."

Vaati shook a finger threateningly at Fey. "Don't question my decisions. I say Daeia comes with me and that's final."

The fairy's wings bristled. "You're not telling us something."

"You can stay if you want. Daeia can make her own decisions." He squatted down so he was level with the girl. "Daeia dear, wouldn't you like to meet daddy as soon as possible? I know where he is and it'll be a wonderful reunion, I assure you," he spoke in the gentlest voice possible. If it weren't so pukingly manipulative, Fey would have given Vaati credit for sounding amiably pleasant.

Daeia tugged his cape. "I want to leave a goodbye note."

Pleasant transformed surprisingly fast to fuming as Vaati stood up abruptly. "Din's fire, I'll write your dumb letter then. You're coming with me whether you like it or not, understand?!"

"Daeia, listen to me. Please stay with the Minish," Fey implored. Vaati zapped her unconscious with a spell to stop her from talking.

"Are you going to come willingly?" Vaati demanded. He calmed himself a little before continuing, "Daddy's waiting for you."

Daeia turned her head towards the rows of pebble colored houses, the windows dark since the inhabitants were still soundly asleep. She shuffled her feet. "Will daddy really be there?" she mumbled.

"Of course. We made sure to that. You'll see him soon enough." He refrained from snapping irritably that he'd been saying that for the last several minutes.

She let go of his cape and took another look back at the village. "I want to see daddy again," she finally whispered. "But not before saying goodbye…"

Vaati gave an exasperated sigh, but he decided to give in. After all, it was only a little more until he was rid of her in exchange for the Triforce of Courage. What was the use of arguing? Ugh, it was so tedious though. She wanted him to write a letter. Good goddesses, he only ever wrote threat notes or warnings; goodbye letters were beyond his comprehension. People should be able to figure out that you had left from your bodily absence. Was the population getting so stupid that they needed written proof of your disappearance to notice you had left? "What do you want to say?"

Daeia smiled, glad that the sorcerer was at least going to grant her a goodbye letter. "Ok, I want: Dear Minish –"

Vaati groaned inwardly. It was going to be a 'Dear' letter.

"I'm going to leave with Vaati to find daddy. I wish I could've stayed longer but Vaati said I could meet daddy soon if I went with him and I really want to meet daddy, and Vaati said he doesn't want to waste time so that means he might be in trouble, and I'd have to –"

Vaati nodded impatiently and scribbled down some words on a piece of parchment paper. He was just going to write his own letter to speed things up…and to avoid the headache of run-on sentences.

"- and I promise I'll come back soon and I'll never forget you. And I hope we can meet again. Love Daeia and Vaati," Daeia finished proudly. Vaati's pen slid a couple of lines down and made a large inkblot after he heard himself graciously included. He coughed politely, crossing out the runaway line as neatly as possible. Vaati thanked the goddesses that Daeia didn't know how to write yet; otherwise his name might have been paired with the 'L' word. That would have obliterated his reputation.

Vaati reread the letter again to make sure everything was fine and loveless before he conjured an envelope and sealed the letter inside:

_Dear Minish,_

_I'm leaving with Vaati. I'm going to find daddy. I hope we can meet again someday._

_Daeia_

It was heavily edited, but he decided it got the main message across and that was all that mattered. "I'll leave this letter at the elder's house," he said, and magically teleported the letter away. After he was done, he grudgingly zapped Fey back to consciousness and took Daeia's hand. He closed his eyes and double-checked to see if he remembered the coordinates correctly before he attempted the warp. Vaati muttered a few spells under his breath and the world around them began to melt away slowly like wax dripping on a burning candle. He grinned. "Let's go."

XXXXXXXX

Huge slabs of grey rock dropped in sheer cliffs around them, and a thin sheet of ice clung along the edges. There were boulders everywhere with scrawny little trees growing from their sides as they fought and competed for nutrients in the harsh environment. On top of the smoothest rock in front of them was the grey wall of a crumbling fort. Hence someone clever had named it Grey Wall.

"Daddy?" Daeia asked the frigid air. She looked around for any signs of her father amongst the rocks. Finally, she noticed something moving along the top of the fort's wall. Daeia's face brightened and she began to take a step forward when she was stopped by Vaati's firm hand.

The sorcerer looked at her sternly and held up a finger to tell her to wait. He quickly returned his gaze at the figure moving along the fort's perimeters, and he appeared too tense for someone who was simply going to greet the exiled prince of Hyrule. Daeia and Fey both examined the person on the wall more closely.

It wasn't a person. It was a Moblin sentry.

"Vaati," Fey hissed. "Where's Link?! You promised he was here." Her voice was slightly panicked at the sight of monsters.

Vaati brought a thin finger to his lips to signal the fairy to be quiet. "He's here," he whispered. "Inside the abandoned fortress…though 'abandoned' may not be an appropriate word for it anymore." Vaati snapped his wrists several times and tried out a couple of spells in preparation to break into the fort. "I couldn't risk warping directly into the fort because we could've been ambushed by monsters inside."

"Where –"

"We're just on the outskirts of Hyrule," Vaati interrupted Fey. "According to the Minish, we're on the Solemn Ridge mountain range just north of the Goron's Death Mountain. Grey Wall Fort used to be owned by Hyrule but was abandoned after the king saw no need for it anymore. It appears monsters have taken over it now."

"What in Farore's name would Link be doing in a place like this?" Fey shivered slightly from the cold. "The king ordered Link's exile from Hyrule! This place…it's like they're keeping Link prisoner instead…"

Vaati arched his eyebrows. "Don't rush to conclusions now. You know Link was the type to go looking for trouble."

"But he was exiled, and the fort is within Hyrule's boundaries! I know Link always found himself surrounded by monsters but he also knew when to obey rules. He's smart enough to know that he'd never have the chance to see Princess Zelda or Daeia again if he didn't respect the king's wishes for at least a little longer than several weeks."

Vaati narrowed his eyes. "…Interesting." Again, a nagging thought was tugging on his brain that there was something afoot, but he still couldn't figure out what it was. What was it? He had a hunch that everything that had bothered him before was all connected to this, whatever 'this' was. Daeia, the king's displeasure, Zelda's worry, Link's exile, the burning of Ruso, the Triforce paradox…everything. He couldn't figure it out, and it frustrated him to no end.

"We should go back. Vaati, take Daeia and I back to the Minish village; it's too risky, and something's wrong." Fey said, signifying the girl who was staring at the fort in fright. "Please. Daeia has no need to go look for Link with you in a monster infested fort!"

"She'll be safe with me," Vaati said flatly. He gave the girl another one of his manipulative smiles. "You know you'll be safe with me don't you?"

"Vaati! There's no reason for her to follow you into that fort!"

Vaati growled when he saw Daeia hesitate from Fey's exclamation. The fairy was going to ruin everything. "Little Daeia, can't you trust me?" He altered his features so that they became as imploring as possible. It was a technique he had perfected a while back to make people listen to him. It especially worked wonders on women, but it worked just as well for people of all genders, ages, and races. "Don't you know that I'll never let anything hurt you?"

Daeia slowly raised her eyes to look at Vaati. She opened her mouth to speak, faltered, and tried again while ignoring the monsters around the fort. "Yes," she choked. "I'm going to find daddy…"

"Good girl." Satisfied, Vaati stood slowly up from his crouch and prepared to make his way towards the slate colored fort. Fey made one final attempt to stop Daeia from following the wind sorcerer.

"Daeia, please. Do you remember what mommy said? She wanted you to be safe, Daeia. Please, don't do anything rash."

Daeia hung her head, debating her decision. Before she could decide, however, Vaati had returned to her side in a flash and stood between her and Fey. The fairy backed away nervously from the look the mage was giving her, and her sense of fear was heightened from the full knowledge of who he once was. She saw Vaati say something to Daeia under his breath and watched as Daeia's eyes widened in surprise. Vaati repeated his words again, and this time, the girl reluctantly reached into her inventory bag and brought out an object that filled the fairy with dread.

It was a bottle.

"Daeia…no…" Fey whispered. "Daeia…"

Before she could react she felt something zap her so she lay paralyzed on the cold stone. The fairy felt herself lifted gently by soft hands and then dropped inside the glass prison. Daeia refused to look at her in guilt, though Vaati returned a smug sneer for his victory. Fey felt anger broiling from Vaati's knowing grin and his ability to influence her charge, but it was soon replaced with anxiety. There was no doubt that Vaati was planning to use Daeia for something, and she was confident that things weren't going to end well. Fey's worry increased when her surroundings darkened from Daeia dropping her glass confines into the leather inventory pouch. That was the worst part; the fairy wouldn't know if anything happened to Daeia.

* * *

**Bishieluver01: **MC was sheer awesomeness just because Vaati was in it. The only disappointment was that they didn't give Vaati any real backstory except that he stole Ezlo's hat. Of course, the vagueness gives me freedom to do whatever I like hehe. XD

**D3athrav3n92: **Yes, it won't do her any good. I think you can kind of see that in this chapter...we'll see (shifty eyes). I am so shocked/thrilled at all the support I've gotten. Thank you everyone!

**Reily96: **Yay, it works! He's the hardest one to write for me, but the most fun at the same time. Standardized tests sucketh and I wish I never have to take another one ever...but I know that's not going to happen as long as I aim for higher education :/

**Diablo1123: **erk, good luck. The 'Vaati turned evil' story will be a separate story all its own and won't be included in this one. I think it deserves to stand on its own, so that will most likely be my next project. :)

**Rune Caster: **Yep, I submitted in a shorter amount of time for sure! Thanks for being patient. :D

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Glad you like! The fact that Nintendo didn't give Vaati any in depth backstory gives me so much freedom it's great - the only downer is that he was left kinda underdeveloped in the games. :/

**Peka the Corsair: **Yes, the main plot is approaching! Hope you like it, and it's nice to hear I didn't screw up the characterizations.

**I luv Vaati: **You'll see - though right now he's too much in tunnel vision for his current objective. D:


	15. The Abandoned Fort

fleets: New poll up. Mostly a curiosity thing for me so it won't affect the story.

* * *

**Chapter 14: The Abandoned Fort**

Vaati occasionally looked at Daeia to make sure she was still beside him as he weaved his way towards Grey Wall. She wasn't keeping pace and appeared to still have some hesitation to follow him after the little incident with Fey. _Stupid fairy…she nearly ruined everything. _

The mage ducked and hid waiting for a sentry to pass, and then promptly blasted the unsuspecting monster off the ledge. There was a gasp from his side and Daeia appeared horrified that he had killed the thing. Vaati scowled. The girl was never going to learn that there were times when mercy was just going to end with her own death. Link had been the same, too, in some respects.

"You can't seriously be upset about that," Vaati said. Daeia didn't meet his eyes because she couldn't take her gaze off of the monster that lay splattered on the ground from the fall and the blast. The sorcerer sighed and looked around just as alarms began to sound from the fort. The other monster inhabitants were going to start swarming the area soon and he had been planning to mop them up with a bit of his magic, but if Daeia was going to freak out from it…Vaati grabbed the rim of her hat and pulled it over her eyes.

"Ah!"

"Quiet you. I can't have you screaming or fainting on me when I turn everyone that arrives here into a puddle." Vaati waved his hands and they both levitated high above the ground so they could see everything that was going on around the fort. "Just don't move, don't say anything, and DON'T scream. I detest screaming."

Daeia couldn't see anything because of the hat Vaati had jammed over her face, but she could still hear the sirens wailing and the clattering metal and thundering feet as monsters surged towards the direction where the sentry had been hit. She heard air hissing as Bokoblin archers took positions along the watchtowers and attempted to shoot them out of the air – it was pointless as Vaati simply deflected them with a wave of his hand. Daeia was glad she was safe with Vaati even though she wished he didn't have to kill anything. That is, up until the point she heard Vaati curse followed by an explosion.

"Blast it, I hate cannons."

Vaati jerked them both out of the way as a cannonball whirled through the air they had occupied a minute ago. He blew up another one that came his way. "Is that the best you can do? I'm disappointed." He snapped his fingers and the fort's cannons broke and crushed to the ground. "Oh well. I guess my expectations were unrealistic."

The wind mage scanned what he could see of the fort and estimated roughly a hundred or so monsters watching him, wondering what to do. They were mostly Moblins with some Bokoblins and Stalfos among them as well. That sounded about right: the Minish had warned him that there were probably around a hundred and fifty monsters total in the fortress. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, and it seemed a reasonable number of monsters for an isolated abandoned fort. Vaati was glad that most of them had been stupid enough to come outside and wonder who had come to visit – now all he had to do was to figure out his favorite way to destroy them in one go.

Should he blow them up, should he spear them with wind, or should he zap them one by one and increase the fear? Hmm, he preferred something that would make sure he got every single one of them that had decided to attend his little show. Vaati popped a fist in his hand. Ah, there was one spell he had enjoyed back in the old days. The good old days when he had made a statue garden out of Hyrule.

The sorcerer raised his hands. "Everyone look at me now! You there, don't slouch! You want to look memorable." He snapped away another arrow that came flying by his ear. "Good, good. Keep that arrow knocked in your bow. It'll be quite an interesting pose. Now ready? On the count of three: One, two, three…" he swung his hands violently outwards and the monsters around the fort flashed a brilliant white. The entire fort seemed to glow with radiance. "To Stone With You!"

The clattering, shuffling, and fearful squawking from the monsters came to an unnaturally abrupt halt as every single one of them was turned to stone. Vaati smiled as he looked at his handiwork and burst into merry laughter. It had been a long while since he had pulled off the stoning spell on such a large scale. "Ah, that was perfect. I should do that more often." He had forgotten how much better that spell could be because he didn't have to deal with rubble and debris of an explosive spell. Complete obliteration was fun, but the stoning spell was less messy and occasionally created interesting ornaments when everything was over. He took his time to observe some comical statues that had been frozen in unfortunate poses.

The sorcerer finally noticed Daeia who had been standing uncomfortably still. He chuckled in good humor. "Well, what do you think?"

"Um." Daeia, despite Vaati's previous warning to not watch the battle, had brought her hat up a little to partially uncover her eye. She was open-mouthed in shock.

"It's so refined you're speechless, hmm?"

Daeia just nodded as Vaati continued with his obliviously cheerful mood.

"Good. Now let's take a nice little tour of this fort."

Vaati warped down within the fort walls so that they were standing in the middle of the mass of stone monsters. Daeia appeared freaked out by the statues and she stuck so close to Vaati that he had to shoo her away several times. The sorcerer, on the other hand, seemed pleased. He made his way to the fort's main gate rapping each statue with a smart fist and blowing up the ones that were in his way. By the time he was finished, there was a clean, monster-less path to the entrance of the main construction with some bits of broken stones along the way. Vaati had to wait for the girl for a few minutes as she hopped over the pieces of statues. Daeia refused to touch the pieces of statue rubble because they used to be monsters, and it really grossed her out when she saw bits of hands and heads strewn over the ground. Even though they were stone, it was still unnerving to think they had once been living creatures.

Vaati pushed the gates open and the rusty hinges creaked loudly. Daeia clung on to the sorcerer's cape nervously as she looked on into the fort's main chamber. There was an old chandelier hanging from the ceiling – all its candles had melted away and dust was collecting in thick masses along the cobwebs. What was once a rich rug in the middle of the floor was torn and worn from the clawed monster feet shuffling over them, and several silent armored statues guarded the perimeter of the hall. Vaati snapped his fingers so a flaming green eye flashed into existence, illuminating the space around them. He tapped a frightened Daeia on her shoulders. "Stay close. Some stragglers may still be left wandering these halls."

The girl didn't need to be told twice: she hung on to the sorcerer and kept her eyes glued to their guide light.

The green light cast strange shadows that terrified Daeia. She would've given up and pleaded for Vaati to take her back to the Minish village except she was determined to finally find daddy. He'd promised she'd find him here – he wouldn't lie to her, would he?

"Daddy?" she asked quietly.

Vaati didn't even look at Daeia. He had his eyes closed and was in deep concentration. When he opened his eyes again, he frowned for a split-second before his mouth curled back up in a reassuring smile. "Of course. Be patient, I know where he is. I just needed to make sure I remembered the floor plan the Minish had determined from the tracking spell." He pointed to his right – a dark narrow hallway that twisted around in a bend and was lined with more armor statues the entire way through. "Come along."

The sorcerer strode confidently towards the suspicious looking bend but his mind was wandering. He had no idea why the heck Link was here of all places. It seemed stupid. Well yes, Link _was_ stupid, but for him to be in this dying fort seemed exceptionally stupid. It was beyond Link stupid. Vaati was sure there was no treasure here, no valuables, no rewarding missions of some sort, no mysterious old men who spoke more mysterious nonsense – nothing here save cobwebs and dust. There was another thing that had been nagging Vaati and that was the place Link would be found in the fort. When the Minish had told him the exact location of Link inside the fort, Vaati had been irritated with them because he had assumed that they had messed up. He didn't like the implications if they were true.

_Why don't I like the implications?_ Vaati slowed his walking pace. He gnashed his teeth together in frustration that his mind was playing games with him again. The same thing had happened when he saw the monster attack at Ruso, and the nagging feeling had also surfaced when the Bokoblins had first tracked Daeia and him on their way to Labrynna. Perhaps he was just imagining things…but his mind was also telling him this nagging feeling of something wrong held the answers to everything.

"Vaati!" A sharp cry interrupted his thoughts and he ducked just in time to avoid a nasty beheading by a sword. The sorcerer instinctively threw his hands out in front of him and sent a blast of energy towards where the sword had come from.

Metal clattered everywhere, and through the dim light of the green eye he could see that one of the armored statues had attacked him. Daeia looked up at him worriedly.

"Heh, don't worry Daeia. They don't know who they're dealing with." Vaati brushed himself off and continued walking cautiously forward. The girl nervously watched each statue as she followed the sorcerer. To take extra precautions, Vaati summoned two more guide lights so the hallway was bathed in a bright green glow.

Though Vaati made a show of being confident, his pace had slowed significantly as he eyed each statue suspiciously. They were all as still as the stoned monsters outside the fort except –

"Got you!"

_Clang!_

"Damn." Vaati snarled as he stared angrily at the new set of fallen armor behind him.

Daeia held up a shaking hand and tugged his cape to get his attention. "What was it?" she whispered.

Vaati turned around in a quick circle and scanned each one of the armor around them. He stood thoughtfully for a few minutes before he nodded and took Daeia's hand firmly. "Whatever you do, don't move. Do you understand me?"

Daeia looked at him, terrified of his sternness and the eerie statues that surrounded them. "Yes," she choked. The last thing she saw before the green light disappeared was Vaati giving one curt nod. Suddenly, everything had gone completely dark and Daeia was horrified.

"It's a poe," Vaati said quietly into the darkness to show he hadn't forgotten her question. The girl swallowed nervously, straining her eyes to see through the dark. She squeezed Vaati's cape tightly, afraid that if she let go she would be lost among the statues. She felt Vaati stir, and she turned her head behind her to see a faint pale white light shimmering behind one of the statues ahead of them. Daeia would have thought she had imagined it until she saw the light bounce off into another statue that was closer. It seemed to have a form – she thought she could see the outline of a lantern, but again, it was so faint that she could have just as easily imagined it.

When it finally jumped into the nearest armor the lantern light moved inside the right arm of the statue that held a sword. Daeia stood frozen to her spot as the sword creaked upwards by the command of the poe.

Vaati slid swiftly towards the side and his cape escaped Daeia's grip. She panicked when she found herself lost in the darkness without anything save a sword that was aimed for her head. Just when she squeezed her eyes shut there was a numbing wail from the direction of the lantern.

_Screeeeeeaaarrghhhhhh!_

At once the green light from Vaati's guide eyes illuminated the hallway and Daeia dared open her eyes to see Vaati standing by the statue with his hand in a fist. She couldn't tell he was holding, or rather squeezing, something with his fist until she noticed the outline of a rotting hood squirming under his grip. Vaati had obviously done something to the poe that allowed him to physically grab it for an electric blue light jumped back and forth from the poe to his hand.

"Would you like a new doll Daeia?" Vaati asked carelessly. He hung the writhing poe in front of the girl.

Daeia backed away from the ghost. Within the rotting hood was a rag-doll that had large black holes in place of eyes that made it look like a skeleton. Its face had been patched and sewn together so many times that it was hard to tell if it was grinning or if the sewing marks had put the grin there permanently. The poe carried a small scythe and a lantern.

Vaati pulled the ghost away. "That looks like a no, pathetic fool. She might've said yes if you didn't try to take our heads off." He tossed the ghost in front of him and then blasted it into the wall so that the only thing that remained were the burned scorch marks on the faded wallpaper. Once he was done, he stretched and urged Daeia along. "Well don't just stand there. Daddy is along this way."

XXXXXXXXX

When they made it to the end of the hallway, Vaati pointed them towards a stairwell that went down to the lower levels of the fort. A few Moblins had tried to jump them from the dark, and though they failed to even land a single blow on Vaati they caused Daeia enough fright to send her screaming every time they appeared. Because of this, Vaati had wrapped a cloth over her mouth to muffle her screams.

It became brighter as they progressed downwards; torches had been kept lit in the lower levels so Vaati removed his guide lights. Vaati tensed when he noticed that they were now in the dungeon cells of the fort – he had expected this, but he still didn't want to believe it. He decided to ignore this little detail for now and concentrated on finding Link. "Daeia, daddy is here somewhere. Keep an eye out for him."

Daeia perked up and nodded determinedly. She passed along the first three with Vaati and nervously looked into the cells. Most of them were filthy and she crashed into the sorcerer when a gigantic rat ran out from one of them. Daeia was glad that she had a cloth around her face because the stench of the dungeon was overpowering even with its help. She was about to pass the fourth when she noticed a human figure hunched over in the cell's corner.

"Mmm! Mmmm!" Daeia muffled urgently through her cloth. She tugged Vaati's cape to get his attention but he wasn't paying notice. The sorcerer was staring thoughtfully at the last cell in the dungeon – it was different from all the rest as it was only possible to see into the cell through a tiny barred square in the prison door. Unlike the other cells, the last cell was completely blocked by stone walls opposed to steel bars.

Frustrated that Vaati wasn't listening and certain that the hunched figure was Link, Daeia ripped the cloth from her face and dashed towards the cell. "Daddy!" She cried, ignoring the foul smell of mildew and rot that hit her nose. The bars were big enough for a child to pass through so she squeezed through the steel bars that separated her from daddy.

"You idiot, don't!"

_Screeeeeeeeeeeech!_

The figure in the corner suddenly stood up and wobbled over to the girl who was now stone still. Its rotting flesh was slipping from its bones and mummified ribs showed through beneath the loosely flapping cloth over its body. Daeia found that she couldn't move.

_Idiot idiot idiot!_ Vaati cursed. His limbs also weren't responding from the Redead's wail. The scream made his hands violently shake involuntarily so that they weren't capable of doing anything. He fought back until he was in control again.

Daeia wasn't so lucky as she was still immobile – now probably out of fright instead of from the wail. The Redead reached out and placed a gnarled bony hand on her shoulder.

"Daeia, DON'T MOVE!" Vaati flung out his hands and caused the wooden bed inside the cell to magically fly into the monster. The creature crashed into the metal bars and there was a sickening crack as its neck rolled over in an abnormal position. It lay still on the floor for several minutes before it twitched and pushed itself back up as good as before.

"Oh no you don't. To Stone With You!"

There was a blinding flash and Daeia heaved a sigh of relief when a stone statue took the place of the horrible monster. Gruesome though it was, she preferred the statue to the Redead.

Vaati shook his head and walked over to the cell Daeia was in. "Reckless. You have to think before you go running off in a fort like this. Remember that the monsters used to live here before I stoned most of them." He regarded her for a moment. Daeia appeared tired and a little traumatized from all the freaky monster encounters. The energy in her eyes had gone and she had a dazed expression. Vaati's eyes shifted towards the last cell, back to the girl, and then back to the cell. He looked like he was considering something. After a few minutes of silence, a nasty smile slowly formed on his face.

"Are you tired Daeia?" Vaati continued to smirk when the girl gave a tired nod. "I can tell. Well Daeia, I've decided that since you're tired I'm going to leave you here to rest for a bit." Daeia's head shot up in alarm at Vaati's statement. Vaati chuckled reassuringly. "Oh it's not like that I assure you. I'm just going to take a look at the suspicious looking cell all the way at the end of the dungeon. I think there might be dozens of Redeads in there – you don't want to meet more Redeads do you?"

Daeia shook her head and buried her head in her arms. She had sat down on the floor of the cell with her knees hugged tightly against her. "Don't leave me," Vaati heard from under her arms.

"I won't leave you," Vaati answered gently. "I'm just going to go off and make sure the cells are free of monsters before I come fetch you again. The last encounter was too close, wouldn't you agree?"

At this, Daeia nodded again. She still shuddered at the memory of the sticky clammy hands that had clawed at her shoulder.

"Once I clear this area we can look for daddy together again. Don't worry – you'll be safe as long as you stay in this cell." At this, Vaati moved towards the cell door and chanted a spell that firmly bolted the door shut. He chanted a few more spells that reinforced the steel bars of Daeia's cell. "I'll be back soon," he promised as he strode off towards the mystery cell at the end of the dungeon, "and hopefully with daddy if I find him."

XXXXXXXXX

Vaati couldn't contain his excitement. Dozens of Redeads? Ha! He knew there was only one possible person behind the special cell. He knew because the Minish had told him _he_ was there in the last cell of the fort's dungeons. Vaati had only wanted to put Daeia off to the side for a moment so he could remove all distractions when he walked into that cell.

He quickly broke the bolt to the cell and pushed open the door. A figure on the far side of the cell flinched and chains clattered as it shielded its face from the torchlight. "Leave me. I have nothing for you," it rasped. The figure crouched defensively. "What do you want from me?"

Vaati didn't recognize the young man at first. He appeared so weak and frail that he began to doubt if the Minish had tracked the correct person. He also didn't look like the person the sorcerer had expected to meet. The man had dirty blond hair and stubbles of hair framed his face as a beard. His feet and hands were chained together to the wall. His ragged clothing hinted that he had used to wear white regal attire fit for royalty, with buckles of real gold and jeweled buttons framed in silver. An old silk cape was slung over his hunched shoulders that had folds that suggested he had tried to use it in place of a blanket. The man's appearance was so unexpected that Vaati stood speechless for several seconds.

Then he noticed the man's eyes. The ice blue eyes sparked and flared to life when they finally saw Vaati. The sorcerer stared right back, his lips curling upwards into a cool grin.

How could he possibly not recognize those eyes? Those blasted, determined blue eyes that he had looked into time and time again when he was defeated. Those blue eyes that never knew when to turn back and look away from near certain death.

The young man on the floor began to stutter and gasp. "You…you…you're…how…"

Vaati snickered at the man's reaction and then stepped into the cell, closing the door behind him. He narrowed his eyes and watched the prisoner carefully. "Why, hello Link."

* * *

fleets: SO. What do you guys think? The most anticipated and most difficult chapter to write is coming up next. Will it be a reunion of friends or a reunion of enemies? Find out next time! ;)

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Oh yes...Link's finally here.

**Reily96: **There's a reason he's good at seduction lol.

**Cattyt: **Thank you! And yes, Vaati RULES. I actually haven't seen Wicked, but I've loved the phrase so I mooched it into my chapter title hehe.

**Rune Caster: **Yes, and he never learns does he? XD

**D3athrav3n92: **I think he was more annoyed and impatient than evil when he edited the note lol. No, he doesn't like Fey...probably because she tries to get in his way.

**Bishieluver01: **I made that place up :). Daeia's not in a good position right now is she...

**Peka the Corsair: **Yeah, Fey's not very well liked by Vaati.

**I luv Vaati: **Glad to hear that! Stay tuned. :)


	16. Miscalculations

fleets: Finally! We've reached the confrontation. This was very difficult to write because I kept confusing myself so there might be a few stumbles.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Miscalculations**

"Why, hello Link."

Link stared dumbfounded at Vaati who was standing across from him with an amused expression. Link had to try several times before he recovered from the shock and could find his voice. "Vaati!" The chains on his wrists rattled as he stood up feebly. "Where have you been?" he coughed.

Vaati brushed the floor clean of dust and grime with his foot, looking for a place to sit. "I've been around and about. I have to say it was awfully nice being alone with no fools like you getting in my way."

Link smiled. Vaati was still the way he had remembered him to be. The sorcerer appeared older and had become taller – just like he had been when Link had first slipped into the future Hyrule with him several years ago. Though Link had outgrown his green hero's tunic in exchange for something more formal, Vaati was still wearing the same purple hat, purple cape, and purple tunic. "How did you find me? Did you come to help me escape this place?"

"I found you after a long, annoying, and frustrating journey that I probably could've done much faster had it not been for…unexpected circumstances," Vaati made himself comfortable on the dust free circle he had made on the floor and signaled Link to do the same. "And please don't make me laugh. I see no reason why I should help you leave this place. I simply wanted to have a nice long talk with you so I suggest you sit back down."

Link blinked. "Talk?" he asked. When Vaati ignored him, he did as he was told and sat down. "I'll never understand what's going on in that demented head of yours. You hate talking to me."

Vaati sighed patiently. "Link, I hope you know you're in no position to make me upset."

"That's really too much to ask for. You get angry at everything I do."

"And have you ever wondered _why?_"

"Yes."

"Really?" Vaati arched his eyebrows.

"You're jealous my ancestors and I have beaten you every time."

Vaati fumed but decided not to let Link get to his head. "You've not matured one bit since last we met." He frowned at Link's white prince's outfit disapprovingly. "And your regal attire looks ridiculous on you."

Link looked down at his sparkling emerald buttons on his coat. "It's not like I had a choice. Zelda and the court forced me to wear this thing. I agree it's a bit overdone." He snickered. "Though I can't say someone who's been wearing the same wardrobe for goddesses knows how long fares any better."

"I like consistency," Vaati hissed. He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head, muttering to himself. It was just like the old days – talking to Link had always made him feel like he was making a fool of himself. He would lose all credibility of being the great and feared sorcerer in one conversation.

Link laughed brightly. "I missed your attitude, Vaati, I really did. I still can't believe you're here." He grinned. "I doubt you came here wanting to talk about fashion though."

"That's correct," Vaati snapped irritably. Link waited expectantly when Vaati's face darkened and he appeared to be thinking of something. Link began to feel uneasy: he was having second thoughts on his confidence in knowing the person in front of him, for Vaati's sudden change in attitude was puzzling. It was the Vaati that Link had seen only a few times during his travels with him – the Vaati that held the true title of the Sorcerer of Winds.

Here was the Sorcerer – the red eyes shifting from side to side, plotting something and up to no good. There was a touch of madness and determination, and the calculating eyes narrowed slightly as he processed information and began to reach a conclusion.

Link had known the Ex-sorcerer who had lost all his magic to become a helpless nobody, but had never had the chance to see Vaati when he had regained his magic. The Vaati he had become friends with was still there, but now there was one other person as well, the one who had wreaked havoc all over Hyrule in days long past. Vaati the Wind Mage was here.

"Vaati, I need to tell you something," Link began, trying to snap the mage out of whatever he was thinking. He didn't like the way this looked like it was going. "It's about the king."

"He exiled you, did he not?" the sorcerer asked, not paying much attention. He was gazing intently at Link's left hand but the blond hero didn't seem to notice. Link was too preoccupied by Vaati's new predatory look.

"Yes, but that's not what's bothering me…well, the exile did bother me…but that's not the most important thing." Link squeezed his hands into a tight fist. "There's something wrong with the king! I don't know what it is but he's changed into someone different."

At this Vaati gave a strange laugh. He leaned forward with a grin that could only be described as evil. "Why Link," he said quietly, "people change all the time."

"There's something new about the king though…it's like I can feel a dark aura around him," his head snapped up sharply and he backed away cautiously from the mage who had slowly stood up. He realized that trying to change the subject wasn't going to work. "Ok Vaati, enough of this 'being creepy' nonsense."

The sorcerer edged closer, his eyes never leaving Link's left hand. He didn't seem to be hearing Link anymore. "Do you know why I went off by myself after I left you? It's because I felt I needed to change, get back on track to who I once was as it were." Vaati laughed. "I needed to reestablish myself as the Sorcerer of Winds."

Link tensed. "You didn't come here to just talk, did you?" He began to feel nervous. Vaati sounded too sure of himself…too confident. Based on his previous experiences with him, a confident Vaati was hardly ever a good sign. _Vaati, what happened to you?_

There was something obsessive about Vaati now. Link found it hard to believe he had been having lighthearted banter with him only a few minutes ago.

"Sharp boy, of course I didn't. I wouldn't have come if there wasn't anything in it for me." Vaati rolled up his sleeves. "Let's get this started then shall we?"

Link winced when Vaati's hands shot out at lightning speed and grabbed his left wrist. He couldn't recall what exactly happened afterwards, but when he regained consciousness Vaati was standing several feet away from him rubbing his hands and scowling in pain. Link noticed a tingling sensation from the hand Vaati had grabbed along with a subconscious feeling of revulsion and violation he didn't recognize as being entirely his. The feeling seemed to be coming from a separate entity – it was coming from…

"The Triforce? Vaati…you can't be after the Triforce…" Link whispered in disbelief. He looked down at his left hand and saw that the symbol of the Triforce was burning with an angry flare.

"That's exactly what I'm after." Vaati shook out his hands and regained his composure. "That was more than I expected, but I was correct in foreseeing that obtaining your piece of the Triforce wouldn't be easy." He smirked. "Now tell me, did you make a conscious decision to knock me away or was that involuntary?"

"Vaati you can't…" Link shook his head. "Don't tell me you're still after ultimate power. I thought you'd learned to give up by now. There are better things in the world."

"Answer my question, fool."

Link sighed in defeat. "It was involuntary."

"Hmm, I thought so." The sorcerer tapped his chin as he mused. "That means you can't just give it to me even if you wanted to."

The chains rattled as Link stood up and approached Vaati. He was stopped short by the chains and he weakly toppled over but continued to try to get the sorcerer to come to his senses. "Vaati, don't you understand what that means? You can't just force the Triforce out of someone because they only reside in people –"

"- deemed worthy by the goddesses. I know. I did my research." Vaati chuckled, and Link found that he was becoming terribly uneasy under the mage's wicked grin.

He didn't like his old friend's expression at all.

Vaati began to pace the floor slowly like a wolf stalking its prey. He talked conversationally to the chained hero on the floor but his voice held a constant edge of malevolence. It was quiet and smooth, and cut through the air like a sharpened knife. "Link, did you know that in some advanced magic mages have to risk their safety?" Vaati put his finger up to stop Link from talking. "Let's take one of the most extreme examples: the revival spell. This spell can bring someone back to life if performed within a few minutes shortly after his or her death. The downside to this spell is that it can result in the death of the spell-caster himself or can cause so much pain that it can drive the caster to insanity. The insanity case is sometimes much worse than death." He paused in his pacing and growled. "Your little fairy friends are experts on the revival spell."

"Is that why…" Link trailed off. His eyes widened, horrified when he realized what might have happened every time the fairies had helped him on his adventures.

"The fairies sacrifice themselves for you," Vaati spat. "If it weren't for their stupid martyrdom I probably could have defeated every single one of your incarnations." He slowly began to pace again. "However, there is a way to cast these dangerous spells without suffering the consequences. If the spell caster can find an equally straining drive that can override the force of his own energy leaving his body, he has a chance of surviving. If the caster also has an incredibly strong will, he can prevent insanity from overtaking him. The chances are infinitesimally small, but it's possible to perform the revival spell without any consequences on the spell caster."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Link asked carefully.

Vaati stopped and stared at Link. He chuckled. "What I'm trying to say, Link, is that if feelings are strong enough they can sometimes produce unfathomable and surprising results." Vaati's grin broadened when he saw Link's puzzled expression transform into one of disbelieving shock as he began to see where this was going. "In your case, even the involuntary commands of the Triforce can be overridden if your urge to hand it over to me is powerful enough."

Link gritted his teeth and looked at his hand with the markings of the Triforce. He couldn't hand it over to Vaati. He just knew in his gut that it would spell the end of Hyrule if he gave it to the sorcerer in his current power crazy state, and he was also worried for the mage himself. The Triforce was strictly for the chosen people. Vaati wasn't one of them, and he wasn't sure what the consequences would be for Vaati if he got a hold of it. Link didn't want to see Vaati suffer from divine punishment even though he was back to doing mischief. _Dang it Vaati, you make things so difficult._

"Look here, you don't know if you're capable of wielding the Triforce," Link pointed out. Vaati snorted.

"Hmph. I know very well that I'm the most powerful sorcerer alive. I'm much more powerful than you. If you can wield it, why can't I?" The sorcerer turned his back on Link. He observed his nails with disinterest and Link got the message that it was going to be useless to try and persuade Vaati out of his new scheme. "I feel that worry is irrelevant. I'm confident I'd be fine." His red eyes shot towards the exiled prince. Vaati's face hardened and he considered Link for a while before he continued, his voice soft yet dangerous. "What do you consider to be your most important possession; something you would be willing to sacrifice your life for?"

Link began to feel afraid. He turned pale as the blood left his face. "Why are you asking me this?" he whispered.

"Something that would force you to give up the Triforce?"

"Vaati, this isn't worth pursuing. Please give up on this venture…"

"Would it be your family by any chance?"

Link fell silent.

The crimson eyes bore into the blue ones. "Would it perhaps be…little Daeia?"

In an instant, Link was on his feet. He stumbled when his bonds pulled him back, but he snapped upright once more and brought his face up to the sorcerer who had the smile of the victor. "You're not going to lay a finger on her!" Link exclaimed. He was about to say more but then stopped himself when something dawned on him. "Wait…how do you know my daughter?" He began to panic when the only thing he got in response was a wide, malicious grin. His knees buckled and his voice faltered in fearful hesitation. "Vaati, what did you do with her?" Link looked at his old friend helplessly. "Tell me you didn't make her suffer. Tell me you didn't do anything horrible to her to get her piece of the Triforce."

Vaati snickered. "Don't you worry, she's doing fine. She followed me quite willingly." The sorcerer smiled. "If anything, I was the one who suffered from her incessant chatter. I haven't harmed her one bit even to take her…to take her…to take…" Vaati stopped smiling. His face fell into one of shock as realization came over him and he recognized his mistake all along. He finally figured out one piece of the puzzle in the sequence of bothersome events like the Bokoblin trackers and the professional organization of monsters. Yes, it was the clean-cut efficiency the Bokoblins had exhibited that had bothered him at Ruso, and later when they had been on their way to Labrynna. _Monsters would never work together that efficiently unless they were under orders,_ he thought. _That means someone else was after the Triforce as well…_ "Din's fire…"

"Vaati?"

Vaati's head snapped up and he whirled around making a mad dash towards the cell's door. He suddenly felt uneasy about leaving Daeia alone in one of the prison cells even though he had placed spells to fortify her security.

"Vaati! Where are you going?!" Link frantically called out after the retreating cape. He struggled against the chains but they held him firmly in place. "Vaati!"

Vaati disregarded Link's calls; he'll deal with him later. Right now all he wanted to do was to make sure he had Daeia under his careful watch. _Fool!_ He beat himself for not realizing his mistake sooner. _Why didn't I realize this before?!_

If he had known that Daeia had held the Triforce and that he wasn't the only one collecting the Triforce pieces, he would never have risked taking his eyes off of her. If this cost him a Triforce piece he would never forgive himself.

* * *

A.N.: Well, Vaati's just a little slow to figure out what he realized this time hmm?  
Here's some backinfo for the chapter you just (hopefully) read (_only if you're interested_): The reason why this was difficult to write was because I didn't know if it would be a 'long-time-no-see' reunion or if it'll go straight to mutual hate. It doesn't make it any easier that Vaati's messed up. I ultimately decided to do a little bit of both. :)

**Reily96: **COOTIES! circle circle dot dot... O.o

**H-bomber: **Thanks for the support ;)

**D3athrav3n92: **I based Fey's character off of Ciela from PH because...yeah, fairies just have the naggy image. Go me for stereotyping :P

**Peka the Corsair: **Not quite the end of green outfits ;)

**I luv Vaati: **I personally can't wait for the next chapter - it's one of my favs for this story arc.

**Rune Caster: **You'll see ;)


	17. Shadow Tricks

fleets: Gah! I don't know how much longer I can do this but I'm so friggin excited about these coming sections that I couldn't wait to submit them and I just HAD TO submit this because you'llseewhenyoureaditdon'tworryit'sallgoo - (gets stoned by Vaati)

* * *

**Chapter 16: Shadow Tricks**

Daeia hugged her knees tightly and sat as quietly as possible in the darkest corner of the cell. She only risked moving her eyes because she was afraid of attracting the attention of any monsters that might have been prowling about. The Redead that stood frozen in stone in a frightening position was just another reminder of the creatures that could still be hiding within the fortress.

She wished Vaati had been considerate enough to at least put her in a different cell than the one the Redead had resided in. Daeia thought her heart stopped every time her eyes rested on its lifeless hollowed eyes and its gaping jaws. She stole a glance towards the cell at the far end of the dungeon where Vaati had disappeared. Someone was laughing from within the cell, and it sounded like the sorcerer.

_I wonder if Vaati is actually fighting monsters like he said he was going to. _She thought as the maniacal laughing continued. _I want him to come back soon…I don't like being alone like this._

She listened keenly and heard another voice from the cell that was weaker and more desperate. Daeia couldn't recognize whom it belonged to because it was hard to hear, but she had a feeling that it was someone she knew. _Vaati is talking to somebody! _She brought her head up cautiously and stared at the cell. Her pulse quickened as hope began to grow. It was odd that Vaati would be laughing like that, and more so that the other person would be so imploring, but there was the possibility…

_Daddy?_

A strange movement caught her eye in the cell next to hers and she abruptly became still again. Daeia held her breath and she quickly scanned the dark shadows of the neighboring cells for signs of a monster. There was nothing there; she hoped she had just imagined it.

A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Daeia let herself relax and she began to focus on the noises coming from the special cell. Just when her shoulders slumped slightly, something moved in the neighboring cell again.

This time she saw it clearly before it melted away into the gloomy corners. It had been a dark shadow that had slithered along the cold stone floor, moving stealthily towards her. She kept her eyes on where it had vanished, and sure enough, it reappeared again as it darted across the patches of light formed by the torches and became invisible once it reached a shadowed area.

_It can't get me, it can't get me, it can't get me_, she repeated to herself. Vaati had placed spells around her cell to make sure monsters couldn't break in, so she should be safe, right?

The shadow was now at the edge of the bars that enclosed her cell. It stopped right before the bars for a moment, and then it seeped in between them. Apparently Vaati had only considered large monsters that couldn't fit between the bars to guard against.

Daeia's eyes widened in terror as the shadow came rushing towards her. She was on the verge of tears. _Vaati, help me!_

She squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the killing blow. Instead, she heard someone snigger. Daeia slowly opened one eye and then the other when she saw an outline of a person towering over her.

"Awww, aren't you a sweet little munchkin? Don't cry. I'm a totally nice guy once you get to know me."

Daeia blinked in surprise when the figure in front of her stooped down and ruffled her hair. She gasped in shock when she noticed the person's features. "Daddy?!"

"Heh, I look like him don't I? Don't mistake me for him though; I'm not your daddy."

Even so, he had a striking resemblance to daddy. Everything about him was just like daddy except he wore a ton of black and his eyes were red instead of blue. His hair was also a dark purple that could compare with Vaati's. The clothes the young man was wearing reminded her of the time daddy had worn his hero's tunic for her when he had taken her to the swordsmanship festival. Daddy had been a little embarrassed that day, but under her insistence he had given in and had entered the tournament wearing his green tunic. The dark man in front of her didn't appear to mind wearing daddy's tunic.

There was something else that was different about the man under further inspection. There was something in his demeanor that separated him from her daddy; something about him was similar to Vaati.

The man shook his hair out of his face in a carefree manner and stuck a thumb out towards the cell Vaati had gone. "If you're looking for daddy, I saw him talking to that purple loving wind blower a while back." He noted the mocking laughter coming from the cell. "Sounds like they're having a jolly good time, so I don't think you have to worry about 'em."

Daeia stood up and ran past the man towards the cell doors. She yanked on the bars but the bolts were securely locked from the extra reinforcements Vaati had placed. "Daddy…" she said softly, looking towards the other end of the dungeon.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and she stiffened when she realized she had forgotten that she had been in a cell with a stranger. Daeia whirled around and her back slammed against the iron bars in her panic, and she slapped away the hand without thinking.

"Whoa there, don't be so jumpy." The Link lookalike smiled in amusement. The fort became eerily quiet as the laughter from the special cell was cut off abruptly. The young man turned his head towards the cell and shook his head. "Bummer. Looks like I can't waste time anymore. I think your daddy said something that ruined the nice reunion back there." He grabbed Daeia roughly by the wrist and put one hand firmly over her mouth to muffle her shouts. He grinned and he pulled the struggling girl down into the shadows with him. The door to the cell slammed open and Vaati came dashing out just as they vanished into the darkness. "Say goodbye to the Light World dearie."

XXXXXXXX

_Damn!_

"Daeia!" Vaati shouted as the little princess was sucked down into the shadows. The mage sent a bolt of energy towards the retreating shadow but it left unscathed and disappeared in a blink.

Vaati stood shocked that he had let Daeia be captured. He had miscalculated badly, and he was the only one to blame. Once again, his arrogance and confidence that he was the only one who was masterminding anything had led to failure. He had underestimated other potential competition, and now he had lost the key figure in his plan as well as a piece of the Triforce. _Damn! Damn damn damn!_

He could have foreseen this! He could have prevented this from happening and he had let the enemy take his prize from right under his nose. Vaati had been suspicious of the Bokoblin scouts, had been suspicious of the monsters' persistent tracking of Daeia, and had been suspicious of the methodical coordination of the monsters. Why, why had he been so careless?

Vaati crouched and rested his forehead on his fist. Vaati also should have known about Daeia carrying the Triforce after all the time he had spent at the library looking up information on it. He had read that Hyrule's royal females always carried the Triforce of Wisdom, and as the next heiress in line it should have been bloody obvious she would have had it. Careless! He had become so used to seeing the different incarnations of Princess Zelda have the Triforce of Wisdom that his mind had disregarded the possibility of the divine power being passed on after the birth of a new female royalty. _Of course Daeia would have it! She's the next Princess Zelda!_ He was ashamed of his mistake. What was worse was that he had failed to see who it was that had kidnapped Daeia. From his vantage point it had appeared to be something like a floor-master, but he imagined it to have a human silhouette before it had slunk into the floor. For Nayru's sake, he even thought it had waved at him before it had disappeared…the nerve…

He stared intently at the floor, his mind racing. He winced when Link's voice rang from the cell and loud clanging ensued – apparently from the imprisoned hero attempting to break his bonds. _At least there was one good thing in all of this; I technically have the Triforce of Courage with me and my opponent doesn't. That makes us equal, unless he has the mysterious Triforce of Power that may or may not exist, _Vaati thought, trying to take something positive out of this new development. He shook his head dejectedly. _Who am I fooling? It's never better when Link is involved._

His ears pricked irritably from the sharp clanging of metal from Link's cell. _Link._ Vaati's eyes narrowed and his head turned slightly towards the hideous noise.

The king had sent Link to exile and yet Link was within Hyrule's boundaries in an abandoned fort, imprisoned by monster sentries. _Very suspicious_, Vaati thought. Link would know something of this; in fact, the sorcerer vaguely remembered Link trying to tell him something about the king when he had first found him in the cell. Perhaps he can get the fool to tell him a thing or two. "Hm, Link, you still have use yet…"

Vaati slowly stood up and made his way back towards the cell. He began to see that hope was not lost and that he still had a chance to win back the other Triforce. After all, one of the Triforce was still in his possession. Vaati grit his teeth as he made a silent vow to succeed against his invisible opponent. _You may have bested me this time, but next time I won't let you get away so easily. This is far from over._

XXXXXXXXX

Link dropped on his hands and knees as exhaustion came over him from tugging and banging on the chains around his wrists and ankles that kept him bound to the wall. He had been weakened from lack of proper food to begin with so he found he tired more easily than before. If he wasn't careful he could push himself over his limits and make himself collapse.

Link gasped for air and brought his head feebly up towards the window of his cell. _Daeia_…

Vaati had met her. Vaati had even brought her to the fort from the way he spoke of things, and that frightened Link the most. She should be as far away as possible from this place! Link strained his eyes to see if he could catch a glimpse outside but the darkness limited his vision. He was also worried about the sorcerer's expression when he had mentioned Daeia had had the Triforce. It had transitioned from realization to shock to fearful horror. Something about Vaati's face told him that Daeia might be in a precarious position.

Link waited for his breathing to return to normal. He still couldn't believe what Vaati had been plotting to do. From what he could gather, the sorcerer had been planning to threaten Link using Daeia somehow to force him to give up the Triforce. Vaati would have had to go to the level of torture to be able to get Link to successfully override the involuntary power of the Triforce that fought to stay with him. Link could feel how repulsed the Triforce was from Vaati; it wouldn't have taken anything easy for it to move to the mage.

Link's feelings were in a confused state of fury, hurt, bewilderment, and shock all rolled into one. He felt betrayed. Even though he consciously knew that the friendship was most likely one-sided, he had wanted to believe that Vaati was different from the other evil he had faced. He had wanted to believe that Vaati had changed – had he been mistaken all along?

But how else could he describe Vaati's intentions other than evil? Vaati had planned to use his daughter to destroy him enough to give up the Triforce. The look on the mage's face clearly stated that he would have been willing to use torture! Vaati hadn't cared what happened to Link or Daeia so long as he got what he wanted.

As Link thought more on what he remembered about his travel with Vaati in their last adventure, the more he saw Vaati's disregard for everything when he was after some selfish goal. He would threaten people senseless to get what he wanted, and Link began to think that the only reason he hadn't thought much about it then was because without his magic, the sorcerer really couldn't do anything. Link began to think that the only reason why Vaati never really got far enough to hurt anybody severely was because he had always been nearby, armed with the Master Sword. Without magic, Vaati was no match for the sacred blade and the mage probably didn't want to risk a confrontation he couldn't win.

_There were rare occasions when he was good though_, a small voice said in his head. _And what about the fact that the great spirits and Valoo accepted him? He passed their tests…wasn't he able to find redemption?_

The voice quickly became lost in the turmoil of fury, rising from the fact that Vaati had tried to take advantage of Link's daughter to obtain the Triforce of Courage. The only feeling Link could grasp and rely on was his anger towards Vaati's decisions. _And now Daeia may be in danger!_ Link raged.

Suddenly, the door to his cell opened and Link caught his breath as Vaati entered solemnly. He wordlessly walked over to a wall and leaned against it tiredly with one hand on his head.

"Where is she?" Link demanded. "_Where's Daeia?_"

Vaati's eyes lifted ever so slightly and he regarded Link for a long time. The sorcerer masked his inner agitation with an air of calmness. He neither appeared worried nor upset: his features held one of quiet acceptance of the situation. Vaati waited for Link to stop speaking before he heaved a sigh. The words that dropped like lead stones from the mage's mouth sent Link rigid in horror.

"…Daeia's gone."

* * *

fleets: SHADOW LINK! Oh-em-gee! I'm so hyper now because he's another one of my most favorite characters in LoZ! Don't confuse him with Dark Link - Shadow's the one from FSA and the manga. He's from the Dark World, was 'created' by Vaati to get rid of Link, worked for Ganon in FSA, etc etc. (at least I think that's how it goes).  
And hehe...Daeia has the Triforce of Wisdom because she's technically Princess Zelda and heir to the throne. It was passed down from her mom (Princess Zelda). We're still not 100% sure on the whereabouts of the Triforce of Power ;).

**Reily96: **That makes me so happy you have no idea. I'm really enjoying writing these, too, and I think I have yet another story besides Tainted Heart that I want to write. :D Thanks for sticking with me for so long!

**Bishieluver01: **Answers are starting to trickle in, but I gotta warn you - they're only speculations from the characters' perspective. Whether they guessed correctly or not...is something we'll find out at the end XD

**Rune Caster: **Nope, Triforce of Wisdom :). It was passed on.

**D3athrav3n92: **Thank you! Hope I can keep things unexpected 'till the end.

**Peka the Corsair: **VG cats was simply hilarious. Link bites their heads off....O.o ROFL

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Er...I hope this makes sense. (?)


	18. To Go Any Lengths

fleets: Some new artwork posted on my devart homepage along with random theme songs. Yes, I'm obsessed with this story...

* * *

**Chapter 17: To Go Any Lengths**

Vaati regarded Link coolly as he gave him time for the information on Daeia's disappearance to register in Link's brain. He watched as the prisoner's face turned whiter with each second. Finally, Link was able to find his voice.

"What did you say?" he croaked.

Vaati looked away and seemed to find interest in the cracks along the cell walls. "Your girl is gone. Vanished. Kidnapped. It isn't too difficult to understand." The sorcerer's voice wavered ever so slightly, revealing the anxiety he was trying to hide.

Link continued to gape at the answer, and likewise Vaati continued to take interest in the cracked walls.

After several minutes, the sorcerer spoke to the wall. "Link, as much as I hate to say it you have no choice but to come with me. I hope you will cooperate."

"Why in Farore's name would I come with you?!" Link screamed. The metal chains rang sharply as he bolted forward and they snapped against the walls. Link was nearly thrown back because he had tried to dash towards Vaati too fast, snarling in anger. "After all you've done and after all your evil intentions, I should kill you! Where is she? _Where the hell is she?!_"

Vaati narrowed his eyes. "So you finally realize how I've felt when I had been around you, yes? It's quite horrible to be forced to follow an enemy, wouldn't you agree?" He wrenched his gaze off of the wall so that he was now facing Link for the first time since he had returned from Daeia's empty cell. Link continued to struggle against his chains but they held him firmly in place. Vaati stood and did nothing until Link collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion. "Someone besides me is after the Triforce," Vaati said quietly to the prisoner rolled up in a helpless ball in front of him. "I can't afford to let them take your piece as well."

He took a step towards the silent Link.

"Would you agree to come passively with me to free your daughter?"

Vaati waited for an answer but the prisoner on the floor remained completely still and didn't seem to be paying attention to his words. Link seemed too far into his own panic that he didn't notice what was going on around him. Vaati took this as a sign that Link had given up on arguing against him and therefore sent a spark of magic that cut Link's bonds. No sooner had Vaati done this when Link jolted upright with inhuman speed with his face contorted in anger.

_Crack!_

"You'd do well to put that down, boy."

"I don't think so. One false move and your neck will be gone Vaati."

"And so will yours."

"Then we'll both leave this world."

Link had managed to stand up and wrap the chain around his wrist around Vaati's neck as soon as the mage had released his bonds. Vaati, on the other hand, had conjured a spinning ball of energy inside the cup of his free hand and was aiming it at Link's face. They were now locked in a stalemate where either of them could turn into a dead body very quickly. Vaati scoffed.

"Don't be silly. Don't you want to see your daughter again?"

Link grit his teeth. "I should kill you."

"Haven't I suggested the same thing several years ago? It's about time you've figured it out on your own." Vaati stared coldly at Link. "Though I have to say that if you want to attempt to kill me you would be better off to attempt later. Right now, you might want me around to help you find Daeia."

Link said nothing and his features remained fixed in an angry glare. Vaati chuckled.

"In fact, you should be begging me to keep you alive instead of telling me you want me dead. Just look at you – weak from imprisonment and armed with nothing but the chains that had kept you immobile. As though you could stop me from getting my way. Pathetic." Before Link could react, the sorcerer had flicked his other wrist and sent a gust of wind that knocked Link clear off of his feet. Link winced as he hit the wall and came tumbling down. He looked up as Vaati approached.

"We've no time to waste, fool. I intend to collect the Triforce pieces before my opponent. I need to find Daeia do you understand me? And for that I require some information from you. Do you agree to assist me?"

Link rubbed some grime off of his face and growled. "You won't lay one finger on my daughter."

"I have no interest in what happens to her. All I care about is the Triforce."

Link turned away and glanced at the wall he had crashed into from Vaati's previous spell. It wasn't like the old days with Vaati: the sorcerer was much more powerful and dangerous than before. He resigned himself to the fact that as of now, he couldn't really argue with the mage. Link had no choice but to follow Vaati's will. "Promise me nothing will happen to her."

Vaati grinned a little. "I never promise anyone anything. However, I'm not so thickheaded that I can't see that we won't get anywhere without an alliance for the time being. I propose a temporary alliance with you to defeat our opponent who's also collecting the Triforce. Will you cooperate?" He paused. "And please say 'yes' or else I'm going to have to take the awfully tedious option of knocking you out and taking your despicable body everywhere I go to safeguard your Triforce."

Link kept his eyes on his boots for a long time. Finally, he gave one barely visible nod in answer. Vaati smiled wickedly in return.

"Good. Now just do as I say and don't give me difficulties. I expect nothing short of success in obtaining the Triforce." He became serious. "Let's get started: tell me what you know about the king of Hyrule."

XXXXXXXXXX

The dark young man whistled a tune as he treaded pleasantly through the castle towards the throne room. The entire castle hall was dark and depressing with looming shadows following everywhere he went, but the man didn't seem to mind. He occasionally rubbed a piece of a mirror that hung on a thread around his neck and bounded on towards his destination. He had succeeded in his mission and was looking forward to the payment for his services. _Finally I can be free._

He pushed past a Darknut and made his way to the throne, giving a curt and somewhat mocking bow once he reached the foot of the seat where the king sat. "Hell-o your highness. How are you today?"

King Daltus of Hyrule stood up from his throne. The once kind features of the late king was now transformed into something cold and even menacing. The young man barely took note of this, however. He could tell that something was fishy with the king's behavior, but he didn't think too much into it. After all, he was only interested in one objective and he could care less about whether or not Hyrule's king was in a bad mood or not.

"I've done what you asked. The girl is safely locked up in one of the cells in the castle in one piece. Now fulfill my side of the agreement."

The king's lips twitched slightly. "Shadow Link."

"That's my name," Shadow Link grinned. "Glad you remembered it. I wonder if you remember what you promised me for getting the girl though?"

King Daltus regarded Shadow Link for a moment. His voice came out silky and perilous. "I will not fulfill your side of the agreement because you have not done what I asked you to do. You've failed me."

"What?!" The Link look-alike gaped. He stumbled over his words in shock and it took him a few tries to speak coherently. His calm demeanor had completely left him. "I did as you asked! You said that all I had to do was to kidnap my alter ego's daughter and bring her to the castle!"

"Do you remember why I wanted to have her in my possession?" the king asked smoothly. He shook his head and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "I like it when people can look at the big picture, Shadow. You've failed on this front."

"Why? What did I do wrong?"

The king took a few steps towards Shadow Link. "I've already mentioned in passing that keeping Link imprisoned at Grey Wall was crucial. Do you remember me saying that?"

Shadow Link scratched his chin. "Well, yeah, I suppose I remember you saying something about wanting to keep him in control."

"Are you sure that's all I said?"

The red-eyed Link cocked his head. "What, about Link holding the Triforce or something? I wasn't really paying attention."

King Daltus's face darkened. "You watch your attitude, you pathetic copy of Link. You were at Grey Wall at the time the prisoner escaped with the wind mage, and yet you did nothing to prevent their escape. You've almost ruined my plans: I intend to have the Triforce for myself and you let one of the chosen wielders go. Remedy this and bring Link to me, or else I'm not going to fulfill my part of the bargain."

"No frickin' way…" Shadow Link said, dumbfounded. "Keeping Link under tabs was never part of the agreement. I did what I was asked to do – I shouldn't have to do more."

The king turned around and waved the shadow away. "You know what you must do. You are dismissed."

There were a few minutes of shocked silence as the young man in black waited to see if there were going to be more. More quiet was all he received, and Shadow Link exploded in frustration. "You can't just do that! Whatever happened to your promise? You said that if I brought the girl to you I would be granted access to the Light World without having to rely on this dumb mirror." He stuck a shaking finger at the king and snapped the string around his neck that held a shard of a mirror. "I brought the girl, now release me from the Dark World!"

The king barely moved his head to acknowledge Shadow Link's presence. "Goodbye, Shadow. I don't intend to explain any further. Don't fail me again." He pointedly ignored the shadow to accentuate the fact that he wasn't willing to listen to any negotiations. Shadow Link hissed under his breath.

"…you bastard."

With that, the shadow melted into the floor and disappeared. If Link was what the old man wanted, then he would get Link for Nayru's sake! He hoped the spell-caster who was with him wouldn't notice him when he tried to abduct his "twin." Shadow Link wasn't sure he would be able to handle the powerful sorcerer and he wanted to avoid a confrontation. In addition, he hated the thought of even meeting his former 'master.' Several years ago Vaati had decided a shadow incarnate of Link would do the job of getting rid of the green pest but Shadow Link hadn't been able to beat him. He was second best after all...

He squeezed his hands into a fist. He had his reasons for working with the king. The king had appeared in the Dark World and had proposed a deal which would lead to his freedom: Shadow Link had been promised a life in the world of light. He would never have to wince and slither away from the sun's rays, he would never have to enviously watch the people of the light laugh and bask in the brightness, and he would never have to seek refuge in the gloomy Dark World again. The shard of mirror that the king had given him allowed him to temporarily spend time in the Light World, but it wasn't complete freedom.

The Light World – how he wanted to be there. He could be recognized there…he could be a hero there. Stupid Link always got the credit for everything. That green good-for-nothing always looked like he was having so much fun…

Shadow Link closed his eyes. He didn't care what the king was up to or what Vaati was up to. They were locked in a race that wasn't relevant to him. Right now, all he cared about was to be free from the confines of the Dark World. All he wanted was to live.

XXXXXXXXX

Link and Vaati sat across from each other in a comfortable room in the Palace of Winds. Everything was covered with dust as Vaati had neglected it during the years he had spent in the mountains near Ruso. Still, no one had touched anything and besides the dust problem the rooms were quite nice. Link was still reluctant to relax in front of the mage since he had tried to betray him, and the hero's hands involuntarily strayed towards his empty side where a sword would have been. Vaati, meanwhile, had his face in a frown and his chin resting on his thin fingers as Link went over what he had observed of King Daltus of Hyrule.

"Describe this 'dark aura' to me. Was it actually visible or were you only able to feel it?" the mage asked.

Link took a moment to answer as he tried to recall the details. "I think I saw it, but it was very faint. It was something like an occasional flicker of darkness as though the shadows around him became darker for a split second."

"Do you remember the color of his eyes? Were they the same color as before or were they different?"

"They were blue and have always been blue."

"Which means he's not possessed." Vaati sneered. "Good. Frankly, I've had enough of possessed people since our last misadventure."

Link pushed together a small dust hill between his fingers. "Me too. But I could only think of possession because the king's change in attitude was so drastic. He was a good king one day and then a crazy evil one the next." He grit his teeth. "He hit Zelda, too. Naturally I became angry and had it out with him. Then, you won't believe this," Link crushed the dust hill with his hand, "he tried to kill me."

Vaati arched his eyebrows. "Did he?"

Link nodded. "Yeah. He nearly skewered me with a candlestick but I was able to block it with my shield. There was a second of madness where he seemed to have lost all reason. Then, he just turned away from me as though nothing had happened and called some guards into the room. He ordered my exile after claiming I had tried to commit regicide among other things."

Vaati sat thoughtfully for a while. "How fast did this change come about?"

Link shrugged. "I'm not quite sure, but I'd say no longer than a day." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "It was quick though."

The sorcerer hung his head. "Link, have you ever wondered what happened to Ganondorf's Triforce?" he asked quietly.

"No. Why?"

"Hmph, it was silly of me to ask that question. Of course you wouldn't wonder about things like that."

"Why? What about Ganondorf's Triforce? I thought we wouldn't have Ganondorf to worry about anymore because he can't exist."

"That's exactly the problem." Vaati stared at his shoes. "Ganondorf can't exist, but then where would the Triforce of Power go? I can't let go of the feeling that it has to exist somewhere…"

"Then maybe someone else has it now?" Link watched Vaati carefully. The sorcerer wasn't saying anything, and then it finally hit him. "Wait…are you suggesting…"

Vaati nodded. "I've been trying to find out what may have happened to the Triforce, and history seems as confused as we are. Still, it seems to be trying to slowly fix itself so that it makes sense. I've come across books that talk of the existence of three Triforces but only two definite wielders. I've talked to priests who were unsure about how many Triforce pieces exist. I'm beginning to think that the change in the king of Hyrule – "

"- has something to do with the Triforce of Power," Link completed. "You think he has the Triforce of Power and that it's driven him insane."

"Yes. Or something like that. Either way, I have a feeling that the king is responsible for the kidnapping of Daeia."

Link gasped. "That would also explain why Zelda would want to send Daeia away from Hyrule castle. She must've realized something was wrong with the king!"

"Yes, she's a little more insightful than you are," Vaati mused. He conjured a small flame that danced around his fingers. "Of course, we may be completely wrong about the Triforce of Power."

"But if we're to start anywhere it would be Hyrule Castle," Link pointed out. "Something is wrong with the king, and I think your theory is highly probable." Link stood up from his seat and brushed away the dust. He began to pace impatiently as he waited for Vaati to do the same. "We should get going to the castle then. I'm worried about Daeia."

Vaati stood up and stretched. Just to aggravate Link even more, he took his good time to straighten out his cloak and shake away the dust. After Link had sufficiently scuffled his heels across the marble floor in agitation to hurry, Vaati grinned and began to ready a warp. "We should get you a _sword_ before we go to the castle. You're no better than a lowly Miniblin without it."

"I can find a sword at the castle. They have tons there."

"They have tons of ordinary second-rate swords at the castle," Vaati corrected. His lips twitched, not liking the suggestion he was going to bring up. "…you should get the best sword out there. I hate the idea of helping you find such a sword. In fact, I absolutely loathe the idea of helping you obtain a sacred sword, but I'd rather be safe when dealing with a king who may be in possession of the Triforce of Power."

Link blinked. "You mean I should use the Four Sword?"

Vaati gave a curt nod but didn't say anything.

Link stared at his rival and former friend. "…wow, you _really_ must want this badly," he finally managed to say.

Vaati's eye twitched. "I want this badly enough that I'd stoop so low as to suggest the help of the sword that sealed me away time and time again. I want this badly enough that I'd disregard my pride and request your assistance. I want this badly enough that I'm going to be careful of my arrogance and know when to take precautions." He narrowed his eyes. "I've waited centuries for a chance like this. I'm not going to let it slip through my fingers. I nearly failed when I lost Daeia, but I still have a chance." He slowly turned to face Link. "So yes, I want this badly," he whispered.

Link frowned. "Don't forget that you wanted this badly enough that you were willing to resort to torturing my daughter and me if necessary."

Vaati let out a harsh laugh. "Ha! I regard that as a trivial matter. Do you think I care if you or your daughter gets hurt? Of course not, fool." The two warped away from the Palace of Winds. "It's not like I'm your friend."

* * *

A.N.: Just a note - please keep in mind that no definite answers have been revealed yet because they're all character speculations. Just throwing that out there to give you something to maybe think about. ;P

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Yeah...Triforce of Power for Daeia wouldn't seem right somehow.

**Diablo1123: **Eh, you'll see XD. Yeah, I think he only appeared in FSA. I'm also pulling things in from the manga but other things I might deviate from and just improvise.

**H-bomber: **Yay awsomerific!

**Rune Caster: **Hmm, no...it doesn't seem like he's the master mind at this point.

**Reily96: **Yes, he was extremely angry. Even the normally happy and slightly oblivious Link can be pushed to anger. D: I like him too. Shadow's cool. I don't know if I like Shadow or Vaati better. :/

**Bishieluver01: **Nice guessing! Yes, Shadow doesn't hit me as the type to mastermind things, and Link actually DID try to rip Vaati's head off literally. As for Zelda, we'll find that out later. ;)

**D3athrav3n92: **Shadow is one of my favs. He just HAD to be there.


	19. The Guays in the Lost Woods

fleets: It's nice I can have more than one update per week. I'll let you guys know when I can't do this update speed anymore :)

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**Chapter 18: The Guays in the Lost Woods**

The two found themselves on the outskirts of a deep forest. The overgrowth blocked out most of the sun and Link and Vaati had to hack through the vegetation before they finally made it onto something that was close to a path in the forest. Link took the lead as he had already been here before when he had returned the Four Sword to its proper place after the last adventure.

"Don't worry. I've gone through the Lost Woods after you left to return the Four Sword to the Four Sword temple. We won't be getting lost in here."

"Hmph. Does it look like I'm worrying?" Vaati muttered.

Link turned to look at him. "In all honesty? Yeah, kind of."

"Well I'm not."

"You're tense."

"I'm not."

"Your hands look sweaty."

A tree blew up as Vaati blasted it in frustration. "Just…shut up and walk!" He glared at Link who shrugged and kept walking. "I don't necessarily like the sword you know," he added for an explanation. "You'd feel the same if it had been your bloody prison for several thousand years."

They continued to walk in silence. The woods were eerily quiet with only the sounds of the grass crunching beneath them breaking the calm. The walk in the Lost Woods reminded Vaati of the time he had followed Skull Kid through the future Lost Woods with wolf Link before. He wondered if Skull Kids existed now or if they had appeared later in the future. From the looks of the empty forest, it seemed as though no Skull Kids resided yet in the Lost Woods.

Suddenly, Link tripped and collapsed onto the ground causing Vaati to nearly stumble over him. Vaati scowled.

"What are you doing, you fool?"

Link smiled feebly and brought himself up onto his elbows. He looked pale and his hand was shaking slightly. "Sorry. I felt a little faint." Link brought himself back onto his feet uneasily, and Vaati had to reluctantly hold him steady because he looked like he was going to fall again. "I forgot how weak I was. I haven't eaten in days, come to think of it." Link laughed. "I was in so much of a hurry to go save Daeia that I didn't realize I should've recovered first."

"This is nothing to laugh about," Vaati hissed angrily. He felt inclined to shove Link back down and dig his heels into the idiot's thick head but restrained himself. "You're not even fit to stand up by yourself and I refuse to carry you. Now we're going to have to waste time in this forest while your face turns less green."

Link was about to say something in apology when Vaati abruptly stood still and stopped him from talking. The sorcerer crouched down and snapped his head from side to side. He dropped Link onto the ground, and as he did so he muttered under his breath, "Something's been following us."

Link strained his ears. It took him a while to notice a sound that was different from their breathing or the rustling of leaves, but after a minute or so he was able to hear a distinct low chatter. His eyes shot up above him and he saw what was creating the noise.

There were three large crows the size of an average dog. They were perched directly above them in an ancient maple, and the six beady eyes were all focused on Vaati and Link. The largest one shook its glossy black wings and bobbed its head a few times. It looked intelligent, and Link felt as though it were laughing at him.

"They've been tracking us," Vaati said.

"Really?" Link was skeptical. "They're only guays."

"I don't want to take chances." Vaati brought his hands up to get a spell ready.

As soon as his hands went up the guays screeched and flew frantically into the air as though they knew Vaati intended to kill them. When Vaati finally shot a spell after them he was only able to shoot two down. The biggest one managed to escape squawking out of the forest.

"Dang it."

Vaati walked over and kicked the dead guays until they rolled over besides Link. Link watched curiously as Vaati got a wind spell that sliced away all the birds' feathers. "What's this?"

Vaati skewered them with a stick. "I figured we could make use of the fact that those birds were following us to get you something to eat." He snapped his fingers and a fire burst in front of them in midair. "You're useless because you're weak from lack of food, and I killed two guays that were most likely following us. I can kill two birds with one stone – no pun intended."

Link looked uneasily at the grease dripping off of the monster birds' carcass. It hardly looked appetizing and a weird smell was coming off of it. Even though he was hungry, the dead guays were making him lose his appetite. "Are you sure it's edible? Guays are categorized as monsters by the way."

Vaati glared. "You dare complain? I'll personally shove them down your face so you'd at least be able to recover enough energy to stand on your own. If you're poisoned in the process I'll cut your left hand off and hope your Triforce won't disappear."

"That's great."

"Just shut up and eat. Remember the reason why you're being forced to eat this disgusting thing is because you forgot to take care of yourself before leaving."

"…If I remember right it was _you_ who just warped me to the Lost Woods without giving me time to recover."

"I swear, Link, if you don't start eating that bird now I'll make you eat your boot."

"You know, I think my boot will taste better than this."

"Then eat your boot! For the love of Nayru just hurry up!"

"But then I'll be barefooted."

"I'm going to kill you."

"The feelings are mutual. I still haven't forgiven you for what you tried to do with Daeia."

Vaati gave a tired sigh. "…Just…shut up and eat."

XXXXXXXXX

The shade around the face of a cliff altered until the silhouette of a man slid into shape. Shadow Link appeared in the shaded areas around the cliff as a guay approached. He stepped closer towards the bird but he was careful to avoid direct sunlight: even though the mirror shard around his neck allowed him to spend time in the Light World, he preferred to stay out of the sun.

The bird flew over so that it landed on his shoulder. Shadow Link noticed that one of its wings was cut badly so that it was bleeding, and some of its tail feathers were missing. "What happened to you?"

"Caw!" it squawked. The guay bobbed its head once and then began to fish its beak inside Shadow Link's pockets.

"Ah ah, not so fast buddy. You have to tell me something worthwhile if you want any rupees." Shadow Link pushed the monster bird's beak away. "Were you able to find Link and Vaati?"

"Skree," it gave a short jab at a finger and Shadow Link had to pull away quickly so he would still be able to count to ten with his hands later. After the hands were out of the way the guay began to poke its head inside his pockets once more.

"Fine, here's a rupee." Shadow Link produced a glittering green rupee which the guay snatched up with a leathery black talon. He held a blue rupee just out of reach of the bird to tempt it. "Now tell me what you saw little birdie."

The bird tilted its head and bobbed a couple of times, its beady eyes fixed on the rupee all the while. Finally, it snapped its beak and began to bounce from one foot to the other on Shadow Link's arm. "Link! Woods! Link!" It cocked its head and paused. "Caw!" it added.

Shadow Link shook the bird off of his arm so that it flew a few feet away from him. "Oh knock it off. I know your kind know how to speak in complete sentences. Stop that ridiculous charade or you're not getting your rupee."

The guay stared at the shadow for a few minutes and then crowed in amusement. "You're no fun master Shadow. You don't like my Caws?"

"Not really."

"That's a shame."

Shadow Link tossed the rupee in his hands so that the guay was hopping up and down, following its movement. A characteristic of all guays was that they loved anything shiny; especially rupees. "So, give me the details."

"Well, my crew and I found the one you're looking for in the Lost Woods."

"And the cuts are from…?"

The guay ruffled its feathers. "The sorcerer noticed us. He killed my friends and I barely escaped with my life."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Be cautious around the purple one. He's dangerous." The guay watched the young man nod. It waited for a bit before it squawked. "May I have my rupee please?" Shadow Link tossed the rupee at the bird. It caught the rupee in midair and flew off. "Thank you master Shadow, and good luck to you!"

Shadow Link looked on after the guay until he could no longer see it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. He gave a few good stretches of his arm, cracked his knuckles, and then disappeared back into the shade. "Well then, I'll meet you at the Lost Woods, Link," he said as he left.

XXXXXXXXX

Link's face was a sickly shade of green and he tottered a bit behind Vaati. The sorcerer ignored him while Link occasionally gagged between steps.

"I can't believe you made me eat that thing," Link grumbled. He paused and retched with his head between his legs. Vaati barely glanced at him.

"Stop complaining. At least you're able to stand now."

"Barely." Link gingerly placed a wobbly foot forward, anticipating another puking fit. The guay had tasted even more disgusting than it had appeared: Link hadn't thought that would have been possible until Vaati really _had_ decided to stuff the thing up his face. The sorcerer had become so frustrated that Link was wasting their time complaining about the food that he had decided to take matters into his own hands. Link picked a few stray leaves out of his hair. "Thanks to you, I think I might go vegetarian from now on."

Link and Vaati finally stepped out into a clearing in the forest. Vaati shielded his eyes from the sunlight that had previously been blocked by the dense trees and he tried to see the temple that was in the middle. He'd remembered it well. After all, most of his life had been spent within the confines of the Four Sword temple where the sealing sword had lain.

The entire temple was made out of white stone that had been polished excessively until its curves were as smooth as an egg. Some ivy was growing around the proud pillars and two enormous stone statues guarded the heavy doors leading inside. Vaati yawned deliberately.

"Ok Link. Go on inside, grab the sword, and meet me out here. I don't want to be near the thing." He waited expectantly for Link to start walking towards the temple. Link didn't budge, and instead stared at the temple with a puzzled look on his face. Vaati narrowed his eyes. "We don't have all day…"

Link stirred and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I must be imagining things," he rubbed his eyes and resumed observing the temple once more. "I could have sworn the temple looked different the last time I came…"

"To be blunt, architecture doesn't interest me in the least. Now please retrieve the sword before I turn you into a part of the temple wall," Vaati growled irritably.

Link shrugged and began to walk towards the temple. He put his weight against the doors to push them open, and then stepped inside. Vaati leaned against a tree and tried to make himself feel as relaxed as possible while he waited for Link to return. It wasn't an easy thing to do in the presence of the holy temple. Places like this that held sacred relics and evil banishing artifacts always gave him the jitters. He'd gotten better, but he could never get rid of all his uneasiness.

Vaati scowled. He should just wait for Link to come back within the trees of the lost woods; the further he was away from the temple the better he felt. The sorcerer pushed himself away from the tree he had been leaning on, and then began to take a few steps back into the forest entrance. Just as he did so, he noticed a flicker of movement between the trees.

It wasn't anything obvious, but it had appeared so unnatural that Vaati refused to dismiss it as something insignificant. Instead of walking towards the forest entrance, he took several steps back towards the temple and hid himself behind a stone statue to see if he could observe what the thing had been. The guays had followed them earlier; he wouldn't have been surprised if something else had as well.

His eyes were locked right where the entrance to the clearing was. After a while, he saw what he had been looking for. It was a faint dark patch of shadow that lingered right at the edge of the clearing. It was different from other shadows because it never flickered or moved like the other shadows in a natural way.

Vaati grinned. _Well well well. So we have a visitor_.

* * *

fleets: Oh yes, I almost forgot. Now that I'm starting to throw out information that might allow some of you to guess what's coming up correctly, I want to ask you to be extra careful in asking what you think will happen in reviews. Not that I think you'll be able to guess the major twists I've planned (...well, I shouldn't get too cocky too early hurhur) - I'd like to be careful about the minor twists to be accidentally revealed in reviews...'cause that'll spoil the story. Thank you for your cooperation! :D

**Bishieluver01: **Yes, no, maybe so. I'm still very reluctant to say anything's a fact yet XD

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Good thinking there. ;) Dang you readers give me hard questions that I'd be able to answer after......the very last chapter I write...D:

**H-bomber: **Oh wow...thanks.

**Reily96: **Forget history being confuzzled, I'm confuzzled too! I need to get this confuzzlement cleared up in my head or I'm going to stop making sense O.o

**D3athrav3n92: **Believe me...my head's spinning too from the craziness I conjured. I have to pick up all the stray pieces and tie them back together and some of them seem to appear from nowhere - let's hope I can do it.

**Rune Caster: **I noticed that only later when I was doing the dialogues. I was like, "now...since when did Link switch with Vaati and Vaati switch with Link???"

**Peka the Corsair: **This chapter didn't have a lot of Shadow so I was sad, but the next chapter will make me happy XD

**nintendomerlin-64:** Hello! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I've actually never played OoT (shame..I know). The forest that's mentioned is the one right next to Labrynna in Oracle of Ages. I think zeldawiki said it was called the deku forest, so I just took that name directly. The forest that Link and Vaati are in right now are the lost woods (that appears in multiple Zelda games).


	20. Another Headache for Vaati

fleets: urg, hope this wasn't rushed.

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**Chapter 19: Another Headache for Vaati**

Link stopped short of the pedestal where the Four Sword should have been. It was no longer there, but he wasn't freaking out about it. He wasn't freaking out about it because another sword was there in its place. Instead of the gold hilted sword he had returned to the pedestal a few years ago after the events with Vaati a much more majestic one had taken its place.

Link had to stop himself from bowing before the sword: it gave off a commanding aura that demanded respect. Even though Link had once held it in his hands, he still felt nervous in its presence. Heck, anyone would – he'd swear the sword analyzed everyone and knew of all the wrong he may have done and considered thoroughly if he was worthy or not. If _he_ felt like hanging his head in shame and apologizing for breaking Zelda's favorite vase while practicing sword swinging he couldn't imagine what it'd be like for Vaati. He couldn't blame the mage for not wanting to come.

The Blade of Evil's Bane, The Hero's Sword, The Sword of Time. The Master Sword. It wasn't supposed to be here. Link had found it in the future, but it had no reason to exist in the present in the place of the Four Sword. It was supposed to have stayed in the future. What was it doing here in the temple of the Four Sword?

_I exist in the past, present, and future. Time loses relevancy. _

"Huh?" Link practically jumped in surprise from the voice in his head. He looked around himself but he was the only living thing inside the temple.

_Not so, chosen one of Farore. _

Link stared at the Master Sword open mouthed. The yellow jewel gleamed in what Link could have sworn was in amusement. The sword was talking to him, and creepier still it was reading his mind! "Am I imagining things or did you just – "

_Do not state the obvious. It is most unbecoming. _

"Sorry." Link felt so unworthy under the disapproving tone of the legendary sword. He'd suspected the Master Sword was more than tempered metal, but he'd never ever expected it to be able to read his mind and talk to him. It was disconcerting, and he wondered for the second time why he was currently dealing with the Master Sword instead of the quieter Four Sword.

The metal glinted sharply. _The Four Sword no longer exists. You may have already realized that you are no longer in the temple of the Four Sword. Look around you. Do you notice anything familiar?_

Link did as he was told and he gasped in awe. "This…this is the Temple of Time." He shook his head. "But this is technically the first time I found you. How do you know this is the second time I came to seek help, and what happened to the temple of the Four Sword?"

_I'll say it again – the past, present, future are all the same. As for the Four Sword and its temple, _the yellow jewel shimmered, _they have been replaced by the sword and temple that can withstand temporal meddling. They have not been able to survive the paradox you and the sorcerer have created. The Sword of Time and its temple take their place as you see now. _

"Did we mess things up that much?" Link wondered. The sword didn't answer and the jewel's glow began to diminish. Link took a step forward. "Can you tell us what's going on? Do you know anything about the Triforce?"

The Master Sword flared back to life. _You must discover that yourself. How dare you try to take the easy route and ask me for answers before you try to figure them out yourself!_

"…I was only asking…" Link muttered. Geez, what a piece of scrap metal. He felt like going back to Vaati and asking him if it was all right if he decided to just stick with the regular swords back at Hyrule castle.

…_O hero of legends, why have you come to seek help?_ The sword seemed to calm down after Link's consideration of picking normal swords over it. It began again after Link remained stubbornly silent. _Forgive me, I did not mean to offend. I admit I was caught unprepared by your question regarding the Triforce: I have been bothered by it because even I do not know what is happening. _It sounded flustered.

Link was glad that the sword had lost its elite aura. It was less intimidating now and he appreciated its honesty. He decided to explain what was going on. The Master Sword was quiet for a while after Link finished his story – it remained lifeless for so long that Link had begun to worry that he had imagined all the conversation earlier. Just as he was beginning to consider pulling it out of the pedestal the Master Sword spoke to him again.

_The Wind Mage requests your assistance in collecting the Triforce for himself?_

Link could see why the sword was hesitant. "Yes, but I hope to not let him succeed. I just want to rescue my daughter."

The sword sounded repulsed. _In agreeing to help you, I would be helping the sorcerer in turn correct?_

"No, you'll be helping me keep Daeia safe."

The Master Sword seemed to consider for a while longer. Finally, the glow around it faded along with its voice. _Very well. I grant you permission to be my wielder. _It added aside, _Remember I would not have agreed to help you if I didn't think the problem was great enough. This race for the Triforce will not only affect you but every living thing if someone was to succeed. In taking this hilt, you are taking responsibility to keep others from falling into harm. You must have courage._

The auradisappeared completely and Link walked up to the sword with determination. Like before, he gripped it firmly and slowly pulled it out of the pedestal. The sword flashed and Link blocked his eyes from the glare. When he could see again, he looked down at his clothes and saw to his surprise that his white garb had been replaced with the same tunic he had worn whenever he had gone to save Hyrule. Once again, he was wearing the Hero's tunic.

_There is much at stake_.

Link sheathed the Master Sword and turned back to the temple's entrance. His green hat trailing behind him, he stepped outside as the hero once again.

_Trust your heart and do not waver. _

XXXXXXXXX

When Link stepped outside he blanched in shock. There was a gigantic floating black eye hovering in the middle of the clearing with its demon bat wings spread wide. Several statues and a part of the perimeter wall had been knocked down, and the monster's colossal clawed arms held something pinned to the ground. It looked like a person.

Link's first reaction was to rescue the young man struggling under the claws. He ran and jumped into the air in preparation for a downward stab on top of the eye.

The eye noticed Link's sudden movement and swiftly turned its attention to the airborne hero. The red pupil dilated in surprise but then quickly became enraged. Before Link could land a hit it swiped its other arm and knocked Link flying onto the ground several feet away. "_Idiot!"_ Vaati's voice rang in his head.

Link held his head and steadied himself. "Vaati? Is that you?" he pulled himself onto his feet. "That's right…I forgot you used to look like that." He tried to get a better look at the person Vaati held captive. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who it was. "Shadow Link?! How can you…I thought you'd died…"

"_I'm amazed a failure like you is still alive, Shadow"_, Vaati snarled. Shadow Link glared back.

"Heh, look who's talking. All you've ever succeeded in doing is to fail in all your plans."

Vaati's claws tightened around Shadow Link making him grimace in pain. Link ran up to them to break them up. "Vaati, let him go! Let him go now!" Vaati glared, but then hesitated at the sight of Link waving the Master Sword at him. Growling, he backed off and reluctantly loosened the hold on Shadow Link.

The darker imposter grinned. "Aww, isn't that sweet? Vaati listens to his master Link does he?"

"Vaati just leave it!" Link yelled frantically when Vaati made a lunge for Shadow Link's neck. He deflected the attack and pulled his copy by the collar. "Shadow, you stop provoking him or I'll let him kill you."

"If you say so," Shadow Link shrugged. Link slowly let Shadow Link go but remained standing between him and the glaring Vaati.

Link kept his sword aimed at the crimson eye and he kept a stern watch over Shadow Link who was now nonchalantly straightening his hat. He suddenly felt his left arm knocked away as Vaati swiped it away with a claw.

"_That is quite unnecessary."_ Vaati pushed past Link, almost knocking him over in the process. The floating eye stopped in front of Shadow Link menacingly, but the shadow was able to stare him down in turn. Vaati gave a sharp flap of his wings. "_Who are you working for now traitor?"_

Shadow Link sneered. "I never worked for anyone but myself 'Master Vaati.' I decided to follow Lord Ganon the last time because he had a much better plan than you. I didn't actually work _for_ him."

"_Then who are you 'following' now?"_

"Why you, Master Vaati. Look, I followed you all the way out to the Temple of Time like a good little puppy."

"_That's enough,"_ Vaati hissed. He conjured a whirlwind that lifted Shadow Link into the air. The wind began to strangle him.

Link took a step forward but then stopped when Vaati gave him a pissed glare. He could tell the sorcerer was enraged to the point he would kill him with a wrong move. Link held his breath, wondering if Shadow Link was going to make it out alive and in one piece. From the looks of things he was going to be lucky to make it out with only a hand missing.

"_Explain yourself! Where's Daeia?!"_

Shadow Link brought his hands to his neck as his breath was leaving him. His face was turning the same shade of color as his hair. Before he lost consciousness, Vaati released him from the vortex where he fell limp on the ground. There was a violent fit of coughing before Shadow Link managed a half-hearted grin. "I can't really answer if you're killing me, can I?" He coughed some more and inhaled. What came afterwards was an explosion of laughter. "Hahaha you might as well kill me. Screw this I give up. Go and kill me Vaati. I'll leave you right where you started."

Vaati made for the laughing figure but Link intervened. "Wait, I got this."

The sorcerer backed down but not before giving one last threat. "_I'll give you one try, but if the imbecile still refuses to give answers I WILL make him wish he'd never been born."_

"Frankly I never wanted to be…" Shadow Link muttered.

Link turned to his darker version squatting on the ground. "What's that?"

"Nothing." Shadow Link stretched. "What's up, my better original I was based off of? Long time no see, miss me much?"

"How are you still alive? What are you doing here? Do you have anything to do with Daeia's disappearance?"

"Tch, fine. I didn't miss you either."

Even though Link considered himself more patient than most people, he was having a hard time keeping his temper. "I can't stop Vaati from killing you if you don't tell us what's going on," Link began, but then stopped himself when Shadow Link began to shake his head and chuckle under his breath. It was then he noticed death threats meant nothing to Shadow Link because he didn't care. The black-garbed teen seemed to even welcome the idea. Something dawned on Link when he saw the shard of mirror hanging from Shadow Link's neck. "Shadow, you're still bound to the Dark World aren't you?"

Shadow Link stopped laughing. He became serious for the first time he had appeared before Link and Vaati. "I never really died. I just went back to the Dark World," he finally said.

"And did someone bring you back to the Light World?" Link asked. Shadow Link nodded but didn't say anything.

Vaati stirred. "_I assume you made a deal with this person. The King of Hyrule by any chance?"_

Again, Shadow Link's silent stare confirmed their suspicions.

"_Hmph. Only hopeless fools trust others to keep their end of a deal."_

Shadow Link stood up and walked away. "You know what? I admit I'm a hopeless fool. I'm perfectly aware that I might not get what I was promised." He whirled around. "In fact, I'm now pretty sure the king sent me to fulfill the task of capturing you, Link, knowing full well I was going to fail. He probably sent me to be killed by Vaati, and if I just happened to succeed that would have been a pleasant surprise."

"What did he promise you?" Link asked.

"That's none of your business." Shadow Link kicked a rock far into the forest. "I want to make that rat pay for using me," he scowled.

"_You'd be deceiving yourself if you believe you ever had independence. You were created for the purpose of following orders."_

Shadow Link tried his best to ignore Vaati, but he shook a little in fury. Link approached cautiously. "Can you help me rescue Daeia?"

Shadow Link's eyes moved slightly towards Link. After a long pause, he looked at the ground. "I guess there's no point for me to help the king anymore huh?" He laughed sadly. "Heh, not when there's nothing in it for me. Ok Link. I'll help you steal your girl back." He threw his head back and laughed freely now. "Revenge should feel great, too!"

"_He's coming WITH us?"_ Vaati asked in disbelief. "_You can't be serious…two Links…no. No. I refuse." _

"Now that my alliance isn't with the king of Hyrule anymore I can tell you two some pretty sweet info about him," Shadow Link grinned. Link nodded.

"Vaati, he can help."

"_I don't trust him. He still has desperate hope, and one who has hope can be easily swayed to go back to old wishful thinking."_

Link frowned. "I don't trust you any more than I trust him."

Vaati snarled and turned his back in frustration. He glowed for a second as he transformed back to his Hylian self.

Shadow Link bounded up to the two of them and wrapped his arms amiably around both their shoulders. "Now, now, Vaati. You're not jealous of me are you?" He snickered as Vaati violently shoved him away and knocked him into Link. "It's all right. Link and I are only friends." Now it was Link's turn to push him away with a disgusted look on his face. Shadow Link chuckled in amusement. "Oh how fun it is to mess with people. Now that we're all happy,"

Link and Vaati glared.

"Let's be serious now, shall we?"

* * *

A.N.: I'm actually scared of what I'm doing with this story...I hope I can handle all of this O.o

**Reily96: **And it's still on I'm afraid. Just like the ol' days, except now we've got another friend. Dear dear Shadow. I love that guy.

**Bishieluver01: **Would you like the Vaati/Link corner to return? I'm still debating about it because I might unintentionally spill plot points, but I guess I CAN be careful about it. As for the wind tribe, I assumed that Vaati killed them or something after MC because they don't make a reappearance in FSA and he lives in the Wind Palace (where the wind tribe was found in MC).

**Astral S. Kepeire: **A lot easier to write, too. And it's a lot more fun to write the banter so I'm looking forward to the future chappies.

**Rune Caster: **The banter was my favorite part too. I'm glad I can finally write the two together now, along with Shadow.

**Peka the Corsair: **Eew, cow udder? The things people try to eat.... Thanks! I enjoy giving personalities to characters Nintendo didn't really develop :D

**D3athrav3n92: **Definitely yay for Shadow Link! XD

**H-bomber: **beef cake??? O.o er...yummy? lols.

**I luv Vaati: **It's gonna slow down soon. I see a mountain of work due in the next few weeks...ugh. *singing* Link, Vaati, Shadow~ XD


	21. The Second Dark Mirror

fleets: Just a little warning before I continue - I'm going to start making stuff up about the very vague Zelda timeline. Please bear with me if my little theory doesn't coincide with yours. Everyone has their own different interpretations. Also, I will also make stuff up about things (i.e. in the last chapter I made the Master Sword sentient so I could explain a question that had popped up in BC; "what happened to the Master Sword and Four Sword?") to slowly put some of the more ridiculous parts of the plot together. Thanks for your patience everyone!

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**Chapter 20: The Second Dark Mirror**

In a majority vote of Shadow and Vaati, the three moved away back into the Lost Woods away from the Temple of Time where the Master Sword had resided. Once they were well away from the holy temple, they sat in a circle within the woods. Shadow Link straddled a fallen log and poked a few mushrooms off of it with his own grey hilted sword.

"So Link, let me hear this plan of yours to kill the King of Hyrule."

Link stood stiff between Shadow and Vaati who was leaning against a tree. He still didn't trust the two of them to not destroy each other. "Why do I have to kill the king?" he asked. He heard a snort from the mage and Shadow Link scoffed in disbelief.

"Dude, what kind of a hero are you if you don't skewer your enemy with that sword? He has your daughter, by the way. I know – I took her there."

"Just because he's planning something bad doesn't mean I have to go kill him!" Link looked at him wide-eyed. He was about to turn his head to Vaati for support, but then realized the sorcerer wasn't the right person to ask.

"Link, you _do_ realize he'll probably kill you if you don't kill him," Vaati said with disinterest.

"We don't know that yet. Besides, there has to be a way to convince the counsel to overthrow the king if he tries anything suspicious." Link retorted. "All I'm interested in is to save my daughter."

"Convince the counsel? Ha, how ridiculous," Vaati shook his head in mock pity. "The king will no doubt use fear to keep things in check. Have you noticed all the monsters he's been commanding? Now imagine those monsters set loose within Hyrule castle."

At this, Shadow Link stuck out a declaratory finger. "Exactly! It hasn't happened yet but I betcha it'll happen soon." He jabbed Link with the flat end of his sword much to the hero's annoyance. "And THAT, my friend, is why you have to spear him like a fish."

Link looked from the smirking Shadow to Vaati who had his gaze to the sky as though he were asking the goddesses when he would be free from the two idiots. Link put his hands on his side and sighed. "I'm guessing I don't have a choice in this matter?"

"That is correct." Vaati said, still looking at the clouds visible from between the dense leaves.

Shadow suddenly leaped from his log and put an arm around Link in a conspiratorial way that made Link want to edge away. His darker version held out his left hand out lazily behind him like a drunken sailor. "You know, I kind of lied when I said that monsters haven't already run over Hyrule."

Link jumped, startled. "What?!" Vaati turned his head and stared, his expression unreadable.

"Yeah, that's right. Monsters are already there." Shadow Link seemed to be enjoying Link's reaction.

"Since when?"

"Eh, probably since they sent you away. The thing is though," Shadow grinned, "you wouldn't be able to see them nor hurt them right now if you went storming through the castle mister exiled."

Vaati's eyes glinted as he realized something. "The Master Sword is useless, then, unless we find a way to get to the other side."

Shadow Link nodded approvingly. "The other side exactly."

"The mirror has been lost?"

"Yeah. No sign of it since you got your ass handed to you by – ow!"

Vaati ignored Shadow who was rubbing the side of his head indignantly. "By your obscene confidence I take it there's another way to get there?"

"I would've told you if you hadn't punched me across the head."

"It appears you'd forgotten I'm capable of doing far worse than a mere punch."

"No way have I forgotten. I remember that one time when you tied me to a tree and ordered Helmaroc to play fetch with me."

"Wait!" Link interrupted. He faltered after four red eyes turned to his direction but kept going. "What are you guys talking about? What is 'the other side'?"

"The other side," Vaati said patiently, "is the Dark World."

"And my stupid home," Shadow muttered.

Link cocked his head. "So you're saying that we have to approach Hyrule castle through the Dark World."

"That is correct."

"Well duh."

Link resisted the urge to strangle his look-alike. "What do you mean 'well duh'? I don't get why we can't just go to Hyrule Castle through this world, the Light World."

Shadow Link wagged his finger. "You can do that if you'd like, but the king will send you to kingdom come. He's invulnerable in the Light World." He kicked his foot through a pile of dead leaves. "The king is one from the world of darkness."

"I don't understand. I find it hard to believe the king had always been one of…"

"Us?" Shadow finished, sneering nastily but with a hint of hurt. After a while, he laughed lightly and kicked a pebble away from him. "In any case, your little girl's going to be in the Dark World as well so you don't have a choice but to start the raid from there."

Link looked confused. "Ok," he said slowly, "I get why we have to go to the Dark World. Now what's this talk about finding a way to get there? Can't you just warp us there or something?"

Shadow Link sighed tiredly. "I hate it when people assume I can just do that."

"Yeah but, you can disappear into the shadows and stuff."

Shadow glanced at Vaati who was looking on with an amused expression. Shadow turned away, exasperated that his blond half was as dull as he was.

"Look here, Link." Shadow began. There was a slight edge to his voice. "You and I come from two different worlds; you're from the Light World, and I'm from the Dark World. People from the Light World are supposed to stay in the Light World and likewise I'm supposed to stay in the Dark World." Shadow started to fidget, pacing in a small circle, clasping his hands together, and twitching his nose. Link compared him to a frustrated prisoner. "I can move freely from the Dark World to the Light thanks to this," he held up the mirror around his neck, "but I can't take you light folk with me with this piece of junk. If the world was a wonderful place and I could go to the Light World whenever I liked without having to rely on a crappy trinket like this I wouldn't be having problems. As for being able to disappear into shadows and even taking other people with me, well, I'm just cool like that." He glanced at Vaati who seemed deep in thought with his chin on his hands. "What are _you_ thinking?"

Vaati narrowed his eyes. "None of your concern."

"You expect a team to work even if no one trusts each other?"

"You still haven't revealed how you think you can get us to the Dark World." Vaati growled. "If you got Daeia over to that side as well, I assume there's something at the castle that can take us there."

Shadow Link shrugged and gave a short bow, causing Vaati's nose to twitch in irritation. "At your service, Master Vaati – I am your loyal spy."

"Get on with it."

"Well, I guess the castle holds something that can get people to the Dark World – maybe it's even the mirror. Still, it's safer to move into Hyrule castle while we're already in the Dark World instead of going there from the Light World to look for something that will _hopefully_ get us there. So I propose a better way." Shadow stopped and turned on his heel dramatically. He spoke in hushed whispers as though he were revealing something treasonous. "Do you know," he asked with a finger up to his lips, "what lies within the Desert of Doubt?"

"Lots of sand and pretty women."

"…Okay Vaati, I'm sorry about my earlier behavior so can you please take me seriously now?" Shadow Link put a hand to his face while Link sniggered in the background. Link waved his hands and encouraged his counterpart to continue.

"What lies in the Desert of Doubt, Shadow? Are you talking about the Pyramid?"

"Thank you Link." Shadow glared at Vaati before continuing. "Not only are there Pyramids, sand, and pretty women, but there is also a place known as the Arbiter's grounds. It is a little known place where they kept some of the most dangerous criminals of Hyrule under lock and key."

"I've heard of it." Vaati interjected. "The Zuna tribe had been in charge of it, hadn't they?"

"Yessss." Shadow tilted his head uncertainly. "Until some of them tried to take over Hyrule with their dark Trident but were defeated and sealed within the Dark World through the mirror of darkness. Hey Link, you remember the Dark Mirror and the Zuna tribe when you were trying to rescue the Red Maiden, don't you?"

"Yeah, the Zunas were a little green in the face but I thought they were nice people."

"I'm talking about something that happened a long time ago. Well, after most of them were punished to live in the Dark World the Arbiter's grounds were left unattended. The ones who weren't condemned set up a small village in the middle of the desert – I know you met them in your travels. The criminals kept in the Arbiter's grounds died in their prisons after the Zunas left, but I hear monsters have found a home there. But you know what else?" Shadow looked from Vaati to Link with anticipation. "The Dark Mirror that sealed the Zuna tribe within the Dark World? There were _two of them_!"

"So?"

"So? SO?! Come on Link be more excited," Shadow Link shook Link by the collar. "The one you found in the Pyramid is now lost and we don't know where it is…unless it's at Hyrule castle right now. The other one is within the Arbiter's grounds and we can use it to take you two to the Dark World!"

Link pulled Shadow's hands off of his tunic. "Why haven't I heard of how the Zuna tribe tried to take over Hyrule before?" He heard a Vaati grunt, his face twisted into an expression of disdain.

"Do people ever remember anything? As far as I know only the deities pigheadedly recall every detail of the past. Mere mortals are only too happy to forget history." He picked at the tree he was leaning on. "Hardly anyone remembers my first appearance in Hyrule even though I had made quite a grand entrance." The sorcerer burned a piece of bark with a spell out of boredom. "Shadow, when did the Zuna tribe try to take over Hyrule?"

"I think it must've been sometime after you first appeared. Actually," he bit his finger, "I'm not quite sure myself. As you said before, time does funny things when it passes. Details lose clarity and you recall things that never even happened." Shadow Link shrugged. "Who cares? The point is that the Dark Mirror of the Zuna tribe still exists in the desert."

Link scratched his head. "Hey Shadow…why do you know so much about the Zuna tribe anyway?"

Shadow Link hesitated and Vaati caught a fleeting look of agitation, causing him to track his movements with stony suspicion. The darker Link's hand involuntarily strayed towards the mirror shard on his neck until they stopped sharply and flew back down after he noticed what he was doing. "Well it's…it's…"

"Nothing?" Vaati smirked.

"Exactly," Shadow returned promptly. His eyes narrowed at Vaati's knowing smile.

Vaati pushed himself off against his tree and snapped his wrists in preparation for a cyclone. "It's decided then. We'll make for the Arbiter's grounds in the Desert of Doubt."

Link nodded. "We retrieve the Dark Mirror, go to the Dark World, and confront the king."

" 'Dark' leaves such hideous connotations." Shadow frowned. He thought for a while, and then seemed to reach an idea. "Hey, how about Mirror of Twilight? It sounds better that way doesn't it?"

Vaati gave a tired sigh and whipped his hands in a circle causing the cyclone to increase speed. Though the winds were roaring and he doubted anyone could hear him, he gave one last roll of the eyes. "Shadow, I really don't care." He looked down on Link who was the only one struggling to keep his hat from whipping into his face. Shadow Link and the wind mage appeared relatively unaffected by the cyclone's growing gale, and the dark copy snickered at Link. In the midst of his laughter, Shadow caught Vaati looking at him as though he wanted to say something. Vaati stared emotionlessly and his mouth moved slowly to form words. Though he couldn't hear him, Shadow could read his lips.

_The Zuna tribe's mirror wouldn't be able to break you from the Dark World._

Shadow Link stopped laughing and his expression suddenly became unreadable. _It's none of your business_, he mouthed back, and turned away dismissively.

Vaati smiled slightly in pity. The poor wretch. He could see that Shadow had the look of a desperate man, willing to go to any lengths to free his association with the Dark World. It would never work. It just wasn't possible. He was born of shadow and nothing could change that. To become a being of Light would be similar to taking a snail and changing it into a woman with the spitting image of Nayru without the assistance of magic. Shadow Link was chasing rainbows.

The sorcerer frowned solemnly. He thought of himself and his own goals and all the years he had suffered to reach it, and all those times he had failed. How different was he, then, from Shadow Link? Vaati closed his eyes. Was he chasing rainbows too?

* * *

A.N.: Some quick background trivia info on the FSA game - There was a tribe in the Desert of Doubt called the Zuna tribe. They were greenish dudes that built the pyramid and who I'm going to assume created the trident that was created for evil (from inscription on trident). I'm also going to assume that they failed to conquer Hyrule with the trident, and was sealed in the Dark World via the Dark Mirror. For the purposes of this story, I claim the Zuna to be the Dark Tribe and later the decendants of the Twili - the Dark World and Dark Mirror the Twilight and Mirror of Twilight respectively. I assume the Zunas who weren't vanished that we see in FSA just died out in the desert.

And that's enough outlandish theories from me. Please understand that I needed to make these assumptions to continue this story. Please also be patient for more theories regarding the Arbiter's grounds coming up in a few chapters - I know they never made an appearance in FSA and only in TP, but I plan to stick in some elements that will attempt to create an explanation for a few details in the TP dungeon.

If you don't really care about these nitpicky stuff that only an anal-retentive Zelda fan would think about, don't mind me and enjoy the story. :)

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Fixed it! Thanks!

**Reily96: **I couldn't resist especially with so many people thinking that BC was going to be a yaoi fic. Shadow's just a fun guy XD

**Peka the Corsair: **Yes, I'm sure of that too. XD

**Bishieluver01: **fleets - After much consideration to bring V,L, and even S to the review corner, I'm afraid I don't think I can bring it back. Mostly because there are more reviewers to answer to in The Unresolved and those three would probably end up bickering forever. I might end up writing a separate book...

Vaati - The review corner was the stupidest thing I've had to do.

Link - I didn't mind.

Vaati - Because you yourself are below stupid. The stupidity of the review corner could not possibly affect someone even more stupid.

Shadow - Haha! Well put.

Vaati - You too Shadow. You're Link's twin.

Shadow - Link's opposite. That makes me as smart as he's stupid. Therefore, you can't deny that I'm a genius.

Link - I don't appreciate the way both of you are just walking all over my self-confidence.

fleets - See what I mean? They'll never shut up.

Shadow - Hey fleets? Is it true Vaati threatened you so you wouldn't bring the review corner back?

fleets - Erm...for issues of personal safety I refuse to disclose details here. Anyways. Regarding Daeia...I don't think I'll reveal what's happening on her end until way later, but I'm not sure yet.

**D3athrav3n92: **Shadow's planning somethin'. Then again, so is everyone else. ;)

**Rune Caster: **He's a friendly fun chap. :D

**nintendomerlin-64: **Er...the first 'review' was more of a pm kinda thing yo. I really wish you wouldn't rub it in that I haven't played one of the greatest games of all time :(  
Regardless, thanks for the support. Yes, I will take some liberties with making stuff up to move the story along. Hope you don't mind. :)

**H-bomber: **I love him more than I anticipated. He's just so much fun to write. :D


	22. Tingle of Terror

fleets: This is the last of the early updating. I will now return to the erratic schedule I used to have where no one, not even myself, is sure of when I'm going to update.  
This chapter is more like a filler chapter; I needed to write this to get my mind off of all the confusing stuff I created for myself. I had fun with this - much needed for me as the story is going to follow an increasingly dark trend after the next few segments. I'm afraid this may be the last of the fun chapters...I think...

* * *

**Chapter 21: Tingle of Terror**

Because Vaati had not known the exact location of the Arbiter's grounds, the three had been forced to take the cyclone while they scanned the rushing ground below them for a sign of the prison camp. Vaati occasionally shot accusing glances at Link, expecting him to start screaming any moment like his daughter. Link would return curious questioning glances, wondering why the mage was looking at him like that, before he would go back to searching for their destination. Right now, the cyclone was whirling away quite some distance off the ground and only an observant passerby would be able to notice there were people hovering at the top of the whirlwind. Well, they were nearing the Desert of Doubt so there were hardly any people on the ground to begin with.

Link looked up again after he noticed Vaati looking in his direction from his periphery. He was beginning to get annoyed by the mage's look of contempt. Link scowled. "What is your problem?!"

Link stopped. Suddenly behind Vaati was an enormous red object. Vaati hadn't noticed yet, and at the current speed they were moving at it was highly likely they were going to crash into the wall of red.

"We're going to hit that…" Link stated. The wind carried his voice away, so Vaati cocked his head; he was trying to make sense of the words by lip-reading. To make progress quicker, Shadow Link pointed a finger at the red thing with his face in the universal expression of dread.

When Vaati finally noticed it was too late.

_WHAM!_

The three fell to the ground after colliding with the red object that had been hovering in front of them. Link collected himself from the ground and rubbed the side of his head. "Wow guys, thanks so much for saving me," he muttered.

Shadow Link, who had managed to cut the fall and was now floating a couple of inches off the ground, gave him a cheeky thumbs-up. "No problem." Vaati was also levitating off the ground using a wind-based spell; he just shrugged.

"What did we hit anyway?" Link waddled over to the inanimate object that was lying a few feet away from them. Shadow Link hopped down from the air and followed behind while Vaati tapped his finger impatiently against his arm. The object that was lying on the ground was green and not red. "Where'd the red thing go?" Link asked.

Shadow spun in a full circle but saw no sign of the red thing they had crashed into. He looked up and squinted against the sun, carefully shielding his face from its bright rays. "Ah, there it is!" he pointed. He scratched his chin as he observed the red dot that flew further away from view as it gained altitude. "That's a mighty big balloon," he wondered. He heard a sharp yelp. "Huh?"

Without warning, Shadow found himself knocked off his feet by a blur of green. It was followed by angry shouts mixed with hysteric objections from where Vaati had been standing. He could've easily compared the noise to someone having their eyes gouged out by enraged Cuccoos. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked behind him. "Geez, Link, can you hug Vaati any tighter?"

"Getoffme!" Vaati ripped Link off of him. Link sprawled face first onto the dry, cracked ground. The Hero of Legend scrambled away, stopped in his tracks, ran back to Vaati, and attempted to drag the confused and incensed mage behind a sparse bush.

"I guess I'll leave you two alone for a while then," Shadow Link gave a shout, whistling catcalls with stifled laughter in between. He ducked to avoid a flying sphere of energy and resumed laughing as Vaati continued to struggle against the spooked Link.

"HOLY F-"

"VAATI OVER THERE!" Link interrupted frantically, pointing at the green object lying on the ground. It had begun to stir, and now it was evident that it was a short middle-aged man in tights.

Vaati froze, his hand held high with a sphere of charged energy sparking between his fingers. Only his eyes moved as they gazed at the man that was shaking his head, dazed. The man was familiar in a horribly terrible way. "Oh goddesses…" Vaati let go of the energy sphere and let it fly far above into the sky where it wouldn't cause any noticeable explosions that would turn attention to them. Shadow Link followed its trajectory in curiosity.

"Aw, Vaati, you shoulda blown up Link's face with that."

"_Shhhhhh!"_ Both Link and Vaati simultaneously shushed Shadow. The darker Link blinked at them in surprise.

"…What's up with you two?" He received a finger pointed at the dazed man from Vaati in response. Link, meanwhile, was urgently signaling Shadow to run towards them quickly. "Him?" He asked, flicking a thumb at the man on the ground. "You guys are scared of _him?_"

Link nodded and Vaati sighed impatiently. The terrified hero whispered insistently. "Shadow! You have to hide from Tingle – it's for your own good so please listen and get over here!"

Shadow Link fell to his sides laughing. Link and Vaati winced from the noise, stealing nervous glances at the man who was now looking at Shadow Link with interest. Shadow hiccupped between gasps. "Him? _Him?_ You've got to be joking. He's just a little man who has a strange sense of clothes – how dangerous can he be? Please, I appreciate your concern for my well being but you don't have to worry about the dashing Shadow."

_Now where have I heard that before?_ Link thought bitterly. He heard a huff as Vaati turned his back away from Shadow.

"Let him alone. He'll learn his lesson soon enough."

Link inhaled. "Isn't that a little harsh?"

"Serves him right for all I care."

The two heard Tingle shout an exclamation and go running over to Shadow who was still trying to stop himself from laughing. The man moved in a strange way; each stride looked like half a skip that was happy in a creepy way. Vaati figured the reason why it looked creepy was because it was way too happy. Someone that happy was probably happy for all the wrong reasons.

"Ho ho hooo, Mr. Fairy we meet again!"

Vaati and Link watched as Shadow did a double take. "What the heck? Mr. _What?_"

"Tingle has stopped searching for Force gems," the short man declared. He held out a bulging bag of rupees proudly out to Shadow. "Instead, I have decided to search for rupees. Much easier to find, Mr. Fairy, much easier to find."

Shadow's eyes gave off a greedy twinkle. "…That's a lot of rupees you got there, fairy man."

Tingle rambled on to himself, not really listening to Shadow. Link had noticed a long time ago that it was a characteristic of the man. He had to admit that it was a good tactic. If he didn't listen to what the other person was saying, he was technically always controlling the conversation.

"Yes, Tingle has been spending years finding rupees. I hope to gain enough rupees so I can become a fairy someday." Tingle snatched his bag of rupees away from Shadow and hugged it protectively. He was slightly in defensive, but he still held the extraordinarily creepy grin. "Mr. Fairy! Imagine meeting you here, though! I was flying in the air above the Desert of Doubt trying to see if any rare rupees could be found. I had thought I would find nobody here because the only reason why anyone would come here is to look for treasure." Tingle squinted his eyes in suspicion. "Mr. Fairy, were you looking for Tingle's treasure too?"

Shadow decided to humor him. "Well, not exactly. Kinda. Not really."

Tingle jumped happily in relief at which Shadow inched a few feet backwards. "Then you must have come to help me! You wanted to give me rupees so I could be a fairy, didn't you? Didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?"

"No way! Hey, what are you…dang it, keep your hands away from me!"

"But Mr. Fairy wanted to share rupees with poor poor Tingle."

"Noooo I didn't."

"Yes yes yes. You did too."

"No. I didn't. Go away right now or I'm going to STAB you."

Shadow held his breath as Tingle simply hopped forward and put his foot down onto the tip of the sword so that Shadow couldn't swing it anymore. Shadow began to understand why Vaati and Link wanted nothing to do with Tingle.

"Why do you look scared, sir? I mean no harm."

Shadow hesitated. That was probably one of the scariest things he'd ever heard in his life.

"Mr. Fairy, you look so dark, too. I thought you used to be greener and brighter."

Shadow perked up. Of course! This was his way out! "Uh, hey, I've got some friends you should meet that can help you more than I can."

"Really sir?! Is Mr. Fairy finally going to introduce me to the other fairies?" Tingle did a little dance. "Oh happy day! Tingle is going to meet more fairies!"

"Yeah, yeah. They ain't as good looking as me though. Follow me…hey stay back…good. They're going to be just thrilled to meet you."

XXXXXXXX

Link frowned from his hiding place. "Hey Vaati, do you think we should go help Shadow?"

Vaati returned a nasty smirk. "No. Let him learn what he gets for being disrespectful."

XXXXXXXX

"NAYRU DIN AND FARORE I HATE Y'ALL!"

"You…hate me Mr. Fairy?"

"Not you, you faggot. I mean _yes_ you especially." Shadow Link tore through the bush Vaati and Link had been hiding behind only moments before. A vein pulsed on his forehead as he screamed into the air. "Y'all are going to pay for this!"

Tingle waited obediently to see fairies some distance away from Shadow Link. "Ooooh, they're going to give me rupees too?"

"I can't believe y'all abandoned me! I thought we were a team!"

"Our hearts will forever be together Mr. Fairy."

"So you tricked me too, huh? Y'all were planning to wing out on me huh?"

"I don't think I've ever tricked you Mr. Fairy. Well…unless you're counting all those times I tripped you so you'd drop a few force gems for charity…"

"Fine! I don't care! I'll just go beat up the King of Hyrule myself for shits and giggles while you two lovebirds have f - " Shadow Link was swept off his feet by a passing gale, interrupting his rant. Once the dust had settled, he glared angrily at the sky. "Are you laughing Vaati? I sure as heck am laughing my ass off with this creeper. Yeah, funny. F.U.N.N.Y. I can't even laugh anymore it's so funny. You know what else is funny? I told Princess Zelda at the castle that you ran off to marry Link. Scandalous!" He ducked as a shower of energy spheres bombarded them. The darker Link slid into the shadow of a boulder until the rain of death passed: Tingle, meanwhile, was miraculously unharmed. When everything became still and calm, he poked his face up above out of the shadows. He was about to resume his angry taunts when he noticed Tingle skipping towards him.

"Mr. Fairy that was amazing! I've never seen anything like it: it was so sparkly and shiny and pretty. My Kooloolimpah can't compare to your magic!"

"Um…" Shadow Link lost his voice. He had temporarily placed Tingle out of existence and had forgotten the man was still very near him.

"Will it be too much to ask to take me with you sir?"

"Er…" Shadow looked frantically around him, searching urgently for any signs of Vaati or Link. He took another glance at Tingle who was approaching him before he stuck a finger into the air. "Ok Vaati," he declared, voice shaking slightly from nervousness. "I'm so not sorry about what I said earlier and I demand you to get me out of this mess so I can save yourself from failing." A stray energy sphere landed just in front of Shadow's feet. He turned his head towards Tingle with dread before quickly calling to the sky. "I was joking. I meant to say I'm sorry the truth hurts but a trustable friend would be honest with you. I'm a trustable friend, so save me please."

Shadow waited patiently as Tingle came closer still. This time, he received no reply. He started to fiddle with his hands, hopped a few paces away from Tingle, and gave a shout.

"Vaati just friggin' get me outta here!"

"Mr. Fairy, Tingle can get you out of the desert with his balloon." Tingle offered. He held out a deflated balloon and began to inflate it. "Of course I will expect you to pay fees for the service," he mentioned between breaths.

Finally succumbing to the situation, Shadow Link dropped to his knees and bent forward with his hands on the hard, caked ground. "All right! I'm sorry about everything! You're superior, I suck, now GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He frowned when the only response he got was a tiny whirlwind that mockingly swept a stray crumpled leaf into the air. Shadow's voice rose in urgency. "Master Vaati I was wrong about everything. Please please please help me. Y'all need me. I'm a fun guy while you and Link are as interesting as Kaepora Gaebora's sermons – which are not very interesting." He took a deep breath and put his head all the way down until his hat slid onto the ground. "I lied about telling the princess you were gay!"

"Mr. Fairy, let me tie you to this balloon with me so we can get out of the desert together."

There was an awkward pause as Shadow stared at Tingle. Suddenly, Shadow Link was wrapped around in a vortex and when the wind subsided, he had disappeared. Tingle ooohed and clapped his hands. "Truly astounding, Mr. Fairy!" He investigated the spot where Shadow Link had been and knelt to the ground to pick up some rupees that had no doubt escaped the young man's possession during his trip on the tornado. Once the ground was cleared of rupees, Tingle tied himself to his red balloon and began to rise up into the air. "Truly astounding. Until we meet again Mr. Fairy, and thank you for the rupees!"

XXXXXXXXX

Shadow Link looked defeated as he sat hunched onto the ledge of a desert ruin. They had arrived there shortly after the incident with Tingle, and only a few minutes had passed since their arrival. Link walked over to his brooding double.

"Hey, you ok?"

Shadow glared. "Yeah, try to pretend like you care after you both just left me there with that creep."

"Um…I tried to warn you but you just laughed."

"I was in a good mood. And before you forget, the key word there is 'was.'"

Link shook his head. "You know you were taunting the one person who could help you."

"What Vaati did to me was disproportional to my light-hearted jesting."

Vaati crossed his arms smugly. "Serves you right." He smirked after Shadow scowled and then addressed Link. "I don't understand how that man is alive here when he was clearly alive several centuries into the future."

Link shrugged. "I told you before: Tingle doesn't die. When I say he doesn't die I _mean_ he doesn't die."

"That's absurd."

"It's Tingle."

Vaati frowned. "Fair enough," he admitted. After a while, he put one hand on his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Now Shadow…you didn't _really_ tell Princess Zelda that tactless rumor?"

Shadow perked up from his huddle and looked at Vaati, biting his lips in thought. Then, his face lit up into one of good humor again and he laughed amicably. "Oh you're still worried about that?"

"I have a reputation I hold very dear," Vaati said sternly.

Shadow nodded. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with…I mean, no, I didn't tell Princess Zelda that you were gay," Shadow replied grinning.

Vaati watched him with some disbelief. "You have a way with words, Shadow. Tell me what else you didn't say."

"Whatever can you mean?" Shadow Link asked as innocently as possible. Vaati continued to glare at Shadow. Off to the side, Link watched curiously.

"Geez, you always like to make sure to everything, huh," Shadow said with disappointment.

"Yes. I don't see why not after the time you didn't tell me the complete truth about the Wind Palace's conference chamber."

"I didn't light fire to it. I told you the truth."

"But you lit a bomb in it," Vaati said testily.

Shadow sighed. "Fine, fine. So I omitted stuff. You want me to give you an entire list of what I didn't tell Princess Zelda?" Shadow Link shook his head when Vaati simply arched one eyebrow slowly. "Alright then. I didn't tell her you were gay, you fancied Link, you liked Link, you kissed Link, you cross-dress, you're purple, you pick flowers, you sing like a woman, you shave your legs, you wear mascara, you hit on men, you twirl your hair, you proposed to Link, you had butt se – "

"Ok that's enough," Vaati cut him off abruptly with some irritation in his voice. "I believe you."

"So it's all good?" Shadow Link asked hopefully. Vaati merely huffed and went over to talk to Link about their next plan. Shadow relaxed his shoulders and stretched. "I'm happy you trust me, Vaati. I would never tell Princess Zelda you've got a thing with Link." He grinned to himself and spoke just loud enough so Vaati would hear. "I just told the other young ladies of Hyrule is all."

Vaati stopped walking while Link coughed. Shadow Link snickered.

"Goddesses, you should just see your faces. Priceless."

Link put a restraining hand on Vaati's shoulder so he wouldn't have to witness the brutal murder of his darker self and pointed at the horizon with his other hand. "Vaati, he's joking. Just ignore him and let's go to that fort-like structure over there."

Shadow gave him a cheeky grin. "Yup. I was kidding. It was just in good fun. Your precious reputation is still in one piece."

Vaati forced himself to ignore Shadow who was still smiling. "Ah. The Arbiter's grounds?" His voice sounded strained. He began to walk. "Let's go there then."

* * *

**D3athrav3n92: **I'm sorry it was so convoluted. I promise I'll write a summary after we get to the epilogue portion of this story. So...in the very very end.

**Reily96: **Feel better! Hehe, I think that the more I write, however, the more outrageous my claims become. More craziness is coming. :O

**Astral S. Kepeire: **I hope I don't alienate anybody with the confusing bits. I'm definitely going to write a summary at the end that outlines the events of BC to Unres, and how it (kinda) fits with the games.

**H-bomber: **Thank you, my faithful reader!

**Peka the Corsair: **Yes, the Zuna tribe are easily forgotten because they were pretty much background objects in FSA. I want to believe there was more to them than Nintendo shows us, considering they weren't recycled characters.

**Rune Caster: **Perhaps...

**Gyorgia: **Well, it's no fun to reveal all that here. ;) Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about that. Just leave it all to me and I'll try to have the answers to everything by the story's conclusion.


	23. The Arbiter's Grounds

fleets: I started another story titled Tainted Heart. You can find it via my profile. It's going to be about Vaati's past and the events that made him as he is in BC and TU. Check it out if you like my stuff. Thanks. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 22: The Arbiter's Grounds**

It was a lonely place. An eerie silence pervaded the dungeon that housed the outcasts and criminals of Hyrule. The sand eroded walls were beginning to crumble and the steps leading through to the main structure were almost buried in the fine grains. Shadow Link sprinted up the abandoned steps and wove through the maze-like walls that were cornered with watchtowers that had been designed to keep the convicts from escaping. Now, no one stood on the towers, and from the occasional piles of decaying bones it seemed the place no longer required guards.

Vaati and Link caught up to Shadow at the entrance of the main dungeon. Shadow Link was busy emptying sand from his boots. "Wow, I didn't think you guys would ever catch up," he remarked, shaking his boot vigorously. Once satisfied, he put his boots back on and bounded down the steps leading inside, making sure to grab a torch and light it on the way. "Don't let me leave you in the dust!" He called as they made their way down.

Vaati sighed and carefully made his way around to follow the retreating torchlight. It wasn't long before he caught up to him in a dimly lit room, spluttering and letting the sand fall out of his hat. "Pathetic," Vaati remarked while he looked around his surroundings.

"What happened to you?" Link asked. Shadow Link glowered.

"It's stupid quicksand here. I fell into it and just when I thought I'd jumped out of it I hit the wall and sand just rained down on me."

"That's why you shouldn't run through dungeons like this," Link the dungeon expert pointed out. Shadow Link snorted and turned his back on him. Link walked past Vaati and stood on the edge of quicksand. "See? In places like this I can just jump across from the ledge I'm standing on over to where you are like this." He took a leap. Just as he reached the middle of his jump something exploded from the sand, covering the onlookers with a face full of gritty dust. When everything settled, there were only two people in the room.

"Uh…where'd elf boy go?" Shadow asked Vaati from across the room.

Vaati scanned the sand in the room. Finally, he motioned a hand to Shadow to come stay still. "You'd better cover your eyes."

"Ok…?" Shadow obediently put one hand over his face, but sounded puzzled. His mouth formed an "O" of comprehension when he saw Vaati charging up a large energy sphere and backed up against the wall.

Vaati unleashed it into the middle of the room.

_WHOOSH!_

The entire floor mushroomed up into a gigantic cloud of sand before it violently expanded outward and the ground shook from the impact. "Quick! Find Link!" Vaati barked over to Shadow Link.

Shadow Link shook his hair free of sand and dashed around the room. Finally, he caught sight of Link weakly dragged by a fanged worm the size of a full-grown man back towards the quicksand in the middle of the chamber. Shadow unsheathed his sword and jumped into the air to ready a downward death strike. "Hyaaaaa - AARRGH!"

Vaati pinched his nose in frustration as another Moldorm worm intercepted Shadow Link. "You fools," he muttered. He took aim at the squirming worms with their victims and gave two quick successive shots at each. It wasn't enough to kill them, but it was enough to discourage them from hanging on to the two Links and retreat back into the ground. Once the enemies were gone, Vaati hovered over to the two who were spluttering and coughing for air. "That was pitiful. You would both be dead if it weren't for me."

"You'd be dead if it weren't for us," Shadow Link shot back.

"What do you mea – mffff!"

Shadow crouched down with a grin as Vaati hung on to the edge of the stone path to keep from being sucked into the sand with the Moldorm that had snagged his leg. "Having fun?"

"Shadow, I'm going to kill you."

"Here, let me help you." He held out his sword so that its tip was aimed at Vaati's hand. "Grab on."

"Shadow, when I free myself from this stupid worm I'm going to make you scream for mercy."

"Come on Vaati, just grab this really sharp blade with your bare hands and pull yourself out. I know you can do it."

Link, tired from the spectacle, began to walk away from the two arguing figures. "I hate to break your fun but I'm going to go on ahead." He heard a grunt behind him and he glanced back again to see Vaati shove the monster away from him and crawl back onto safe footing. It wasn't long before Shadow was back in the quicksand with the Moldorms with Vaati jeering from the side. "Come on guys, it's not the kiddies' sandbox for crying out loud."

Vaati huffed and walked away from Shadow Link, leaving him hanging onto the ledge and struggling to free himself from the gigantic worms. Link was about to ask if he was just going to leave him there when there was a cry from Shadow.

"Hookshot!"

"What the – "

Vaati was dragged backwards towards Shadow as the hookshot grabbed his cape. The mage's hand shot out and gripped Link by the collar on his way back. Startled from the suddenly crowded sand pit, the Moldorm that had held Shadow released him and burrowed away.

"Unbelievable…" Link slapped his hand to his face. "Shadow, why'd you have the hookshot anyway?"

Shadow sneezed some sand and looked at the item strapped onto his wrist. "I dunno. I just had it."

Link shrugged, and then looked from Vaati to Shadow. He sighed. "Now, we're all going to be able to be mature about this and get out together, right?"

"Yes mother," Shadow rolled his eyes.

Vaati wordlessly pulled himself out of the quicksand one more time, turned around to face the Links with a glare, and gave Link a hefty kick away from the ledge. Shadow grabbed his hand just in time to save him from sinking deeper into the sand.

"The jerk," Link growled. He pointed at the hookshot on Shadow's arm. "May I borrow that for a second?"

Shadow snickered. "Sure thing."

XXXXXXXXX

It was another good fifteen minutes when they had all finally cleared the quicksand room. Shadow Link had managed to dash out towards the next door to hookshot the remaining two out from the sand before they could argue any further.

They pressed onwards until they stepped into a spacious chamber with steps leading up to an impressive gate lined with four large unlit torches. Standing next to each torch was a decaying robed body, frozen in a lifeless grimace. The three exchanged glances, and then Vaati proceeded to move cautiously towards the door past the corpses.

"Who…goes…there?" A voice wheezed.

Vaati's head snapped around. "Did either of you say something?" He became alert when both Links shook their heads.

"Who…disturbs…the Arbiter's…grounds?"

This time, Vaati noticed one of the corpse's heads turn painfully towards him with its almost lifeless eyes staring at him. He realized it wasn't a corpse…yet.

"Cripes, it's alive?" Shadow asked in disbelief. He ran up next to the mage with Link following closely behind. "What's a man like you doing in a place like this?"

The frail man tried to look at Shadow but his head lolled uselessly over his chest. Link found it unbelievable that the man was still alive, and even more so that he still had the energy to keep a rusty lantern gripped firmly in his right hand when he couldn't even hold his head up. The veined bony hands were wrapped around the lantern as though it were the most precious thing in the entire world. "We four…are the guardians of…the grounds ahead. Death resides…beyond these…doors. Go back whence you came."

"Sorry to break it to you but the rest of your 'four' seems to have died," Shadow Link pointed out, waving his arms out towards the bodies slumped next to the torches.

Suddenly, the three corpses jerked simultaneously and a ghostly light shimmered over the air above them. The eyes couldn't focus on the shifting air, but Vaati noticed the same lantern the dying man was holding to be hovering in the middle of each one. The dead had turned into Poes.

"We are…cursed to attend…this hall forever. Go back…whence you came."

"We can't do that. We have to find the Dark Mirror." Link stepped up and tried to ignore the lanterns that were spinning slowly around them like vultures. There was a sharp hissing sound at the mention of the mirror, and the lanterns momentarily edged away as though repulsed before closing in again in a tight circle. The half-dead man was staring at the three in puzzlement as well.

"The…mirror? But you are all…free men. Why should you…seek it?"

"We need it. That's all you need to know." Vaati replied flatly.

The man looked at them thoughtfully before he began to chuckle relentlessly and shook a bony hand to make the Poes scatter. He rasped. "You…are the first I've met…to ask to…be let past the doors. Most men…want to be let out." The hovering lanterns flickered towards each torch and lit them in an eerie blue flame. The man wobbled onto his skeletal legs and sagged onto the remaining torch so that his own lantern lit it on fire. The man let out his last breath in short, grating chuckles. "The Caraca…awaits you…"

XXXXXXXXX

"So basically," Shadow Link explained to the other two, "this place is where all the really bad guys were locked up. There were few choices for the prisoners; they could die here," he pointed at the deadly quicksand, the spinning blades that circled the perimeters, and the near bottomless pits, "…or they could try to reach the Mirror of Twilight. Those who reach the mirror could escape into the Dark World and have another turn at life over on that side. Of course it wasn't easy so most of the poor blokes died here." There was a disturbing crunch as he crushed a lost skull with the bottom of his boot. It crumbled to dust and blended in with the rest of the sand in the room.

They slowed to a stop when they reached an expanse of quicksand with spinning blades roaming the floor. "I'd rather have chosen this over imprisonment within the Four Sword," Vaati said under his breath. At least with this, he thought, the prisoners had been given hope of escape. All he had had was years and years of solitary confinement with nothing to do but plot his next plan…never sure if he would ever be released to follow them through.

Link poked a foot into the sand, but then quickly pulled it back when he felt himself getting slowly sucked down towards the bottom. It seemed as though the only way through was across the ledges lined with the spinning blades. He noticed something peculiar when he found himself still sucked towards the quicksand even though his foot was on solid ground. He looked down at his foot. "Huh?"

_Crack!_

"Watch it dummy," Shadow Link hopped back from the skeletal arm that had latched onto Link. Link made a disgusted face and shook his foot free of the boney fingers that were still wrapped around him. He stopped what he was doing when he noticed the sandy ground in front of him begin to ripple in waves.

"This doesn't look good…"

Hundreds of metal spears popped up from the sand so that the three were facing a wall of spikes. Skeleton hands writhed out from the ground and they found themselves facing an army of Stalkins. They had once been the remains of the dead convicts who had been condemned to lay waste in the Arbiter's grounds. Shadow Link put on his best game face. "Three to a couple hundred. I think we can handle this, don't you?"

Link readied his fighting stance and shook his sword experimentally. "Ready."

Shadow Link and Link held out their swords in perfect synchronization. "Let's do this!"

"Oh please." Vaati drawled in a bored tone. He held out his hands in front of them and the three glowed a hot white before they disappeared and warped to the other side of the room away from the Stalkin army. Once there, he casually opened the door and walked on through, leaving the Links surprised and a little deflated.

Link looked to his shadow. "Well that was anticlimactic." Shadow Link merely nodded disappointedly and followed the mage through to the next chamber.

* * *

fleets: The dead guys by the torches are the poes you have to hunt down in Twilight Princess.

**Reily96: **I'm sure Shadow wouldn't object. I agree that the internet can make me gradually weirder. When I start speaking in lols omgs and rofls to my friends I know it's gotten pretty bad. lol.

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Hrrm, I guess if I'm in the right mood some humor might creep into the chapters. It'll be serious overall though. And I don't know what made me want to include Tingle here, but it just kinda happened lol.

**Bishieluver01:** It...just...kinda...happened. I have no idea why. Oooh, yesss, a trio of miscreants. XD  
Don't worry, this story gets priority over TH so it won't be abandoned.

**nintendomerlin-64: **Thanks! Yeah, this story will make more sense after you've read BC because it's a direct sequel. ...O.o...I don't give out personal info like that.

**Rune Caster: **I make sure Vaati warps whenever he's going someplace he's been to before. He uses the cyclone for new locations (like when he was trying to find the Arbiter's grounds. He warped to Link's prison because the Minish gave him coordinates). ;)

**Gyrogia: **Oh yes, Shadow will get quite a HUGE (awesome?) role later. No, your reviews aren't too long. I quite enjoy reading long reviews, actually. :)

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **Awww, thank you! Just one thing though - it's Shadow Link. I know it's nitpicky but the distinction's going to have some relevance later on (whistles innocently). Er...don't ask why, I can't tell you right now...especially here.

**H-bomber: **:D


	24. The Caraca

fleets: Whew. Busy busy busy. Btw, if you have a question regarding TU that you'd like answered, I think I'll be able to answer them earlier if you post them on my dA account rather than on the reviews because you'll have to wait for the next chapter for me to answer the questions on the reviews. Just throwing that out there. :)

* * *

**Chapter 23: The Caraca**

Progress through the Arbiter's grounds was laughably easy with the help of Vaati's warping abilities. All they ever really had to do was to look for the next door in the room and then have Vaati warp. It was relatively eventless for the most part except for one little explosive episode. It went something like this:

Shadow Link had been complaining that the dungeon was so easy that he had started to purposely summon Stalkin armies from the sand much to Vaati's annoyance.

"We don't need distractions while looking for the next door Shadow," Vaati had scolded.

Shadow, ignoring Vaati, had poked Link with his elbow while he swatted down the first row of skeletons that had reached them with his sword. "Hey, betcha I can kill more of these guys than you," he'd said.

Link, who had been standing on his toes to look above the wall of Stalkins for any signs of the next door, momentarily took a break. Scrunching his eyebrows together, he'd asked, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," his shadow had replied with much arrogance.

"Well I betcha you can't."

"Betcha I can."

"Can't!"

"Ca – "

_Boom!_

An impressive blast interrupted the two, and Shadow and Link ducked their heads as sand rained down on them. Link had then cautiously observed the bones scattered everywhere down an ominous cratered path of sand while Shadow peeked over at Vaati. He had laughed weakly and given a slightly apologetic smile at the glaring mage.

"Er…hehe…hey, I see a door."

"Good."

And that had been the end of it.

XXXXXXXX

Vaati sighed. He'd been sighing a lot ever since he'd run into Link again, and more so after the addition of another Link. This mission to get to the Dark Mirror was serious business, and yet Shadow treated it like they were going on a picnic while Link was…well…Link. The two of them combined certainly took the gravity away from the objective. Vaati had wanted to take them both by the necks and remind them that their goals had been to retrieve Link's daughter: not something to take lightly. He'd decided against doing that, however, because he hadn't felt like facing an angry Link again and hearing the green twit accuse him of starting the mess. Vaati didn't really want to be reminded of his slip-up that had cost him a Triforce piece.

He pushed open the next door and stepped into a tall, circular room. It had the appearance of an arena, and like almost every other room they had been in the floor was filled with sand. Sand. He was starting to hate sand. It caused him to hold back on the wind because he could accidentally cause the gritty dust to fly into his eyes.

Vaati heard the door behind him slam shut with a deafening finality, causing him to turn around. The two Links were also looking at the door with uncertainty: even the annoyingly jovial Shadow seemed a little tense.

Link scratched his head and then went to take a closer look at the door that had closed on them. He scrubbed his hands over some of the indents and blew away the dust. "There's some writing here…"

Vaati walked over. "What does it say?"

Link scratched the faded writing and began to read:

"Punished for your atrocities, you were destined to roam the lonely halls of the Arbiter's grounds with but one hope of escape. Only your fierce determination has led you here to the chamber of fallen sinners…"

Link looked up sharply as a slight tremor passed. Vaati urged him to keep going.

"Your final test lies here…"

The rumbling became more pronounced and the torches around the room began to glow in succession.

"Two paths diverge. One the gate to freedom…"

Shadow Link unsheathed his sword, keeping his eyes on the far wall that had pushed in on itself and was slowly grinding up with a low grating noise. Vaati flicked his cape aside and began to levitate off the ground.

"One the gate to hell…"

_GRRRRRRAAAAOOOARR!_

"Holy Farore," Link concluded as he turned away from the door to see the thing roar through the open wall on the far side of the circular arena. It was a towering beast with fangs so huge that it couldn't close its mouth. The eyes had the appearance of empty sockets that glowed a lifeless red from within, and it hung its head heavy from four colossal horns. Several swords and spears were sticking out of its skull and shoulders, hinting some previous failed attempt to kill it. Though it had a bristling mane around its neck, the rest of it was morbidly skeletal with rubbery mummy like skin stretched over the bones. The spine was sticking out of its back like disfigured spikes.

"All right! Link, I betcha I can kill that before you!" Shadow twirled his sword and ran straight towards the Caraca. He momentarily disappeared within the shadow created by the monster's foot and he reappeared on the other side. Shadow waved. The monster, meanwhile, hadn't noticed and had its attention on Vaati and Link.

"What is that fool doing?" Vaati growled. Shadow was swinging his sword in the air. He did a few more jabs and then called over to the two who were still standing across from him.

"Can y'all wear it down for me? I want to have the finishing blow."

"Why that sneaking little coward…" Link grumbled. He skittered hurriedly to the side when a fireball came raging towards him. "Woah!"

He barely had time to think as the monster rumbled towards him in two long strides and slammed its claw down near where he had been. Link rolled away and he was about to run across the sand to where Shadow had been when a spray of gold stopped his progress. A wall of dead corpses had appeared, trapping him. Fortunately, Vaati had been able to distract the Caraca with a volley of blasts to give Link time to maneuver away from the wall of the dead back towards Shadow Link.

"They must be the prisoners who had made it here only to have died from that thing," Shadow conjectured once Link had made it over. More dead bodies began to rise up from the sand, adding the unpleasant smell of decay. Shadow looked at Link who was catching his breath. "You wuss. You're tired already?" Link glared.

"You've done nothing yourself."

"Tch. Watch me." Shadow Link swung his sword and dashed between the dead. Once he was near the monster that had its attention on the wind mage, he took a leap onto a corpse and jumped off of its skull until he was level with its thigh. Link was impressed…until the monster's emaciated tail swung over and hit him full on the stomach. Shadow doubled over on the ground but was quickly forced to run out of there when the Caraca's head swung over and aimed a blast of fire.

Link suddenly realized that the dead bodies were not just walls when he noticed the ones nearest to him begin to drag themselves towards him with their arms raised. They were slow, but most of them held swords and spears and with the growing number of them he wasn't sure if he could take all of them by himself. He saw Shadow struggling to keep the dead at bay while avoiding the Caraca's gigantic claws from hitting him.

There was a screech, and Link looked up to see the monster get knocked backwards by a blinding ray as it hit its head. Vaati had decided to transform into his demonic form. The walls shook as dark claws shot out from the winged eye and pinned the Caraca to the side of the arena. Shadow hacked his way back over to Link – there was a slight cut across his eye but other than that he seemed to be ok.

"It looks like Vaati has things under control," Link remarked. Shadow snorted.

"I can do better than that."

The two cut down the approaching corpses in almost perfect synch. Once there was a break in the wave, both of them looked towards the thrashing Caraca to see how the sorcerer was doing. One of the monster's arms hung limp from its sides from Vaati breaking it, but other than that it was giving the sorcerer a difficult time. The giant eye retreated back when the Caraca attempted to burn it with fire at point blank range.

Vaati's eye flashed as he unleashed another destructive beam, but this time the monster sidestepped and avoided the attack. Link heard Vaati curse in frustration when the two monstrosities locked claws.

"Heh. Vaati doesn't know what to do." Shadow snickered. "I do. Watch this, Link, I'm going to finish this fast."

Link watched curiously as Shadow threw his hand into the air. There was a loud pop as an enormous bomb with crossbones painted on its front appeared in midair. Shadow Link cackled and Link backed away nervously. "Heehee, don't worry. We still have some time before it explodes."

"That's uh…a Big Bomb."

"No duh cuccoo brain." Shadow Link hefted it over his shoulders and took aim. "It's also the most lethal weapon in existence."

"You're going to kill all of us!" Link exclaimed. He felt sweat roll off his face when Shadow threw it just beneath the Caraca's feet. He whistled and got Vaati's attention. The eye squinted and narrowed when it noticed the bomb by the monster.

"_Shadow…don't tell me you threw that you idiot._"

The bomb began to flash red. Vaati hissed, rammed against the monster so that it tottered back, and flew quickly towards the Links. Two claws shot out as he snatched them both and he flew as fast as he could towards the top of the chamber as far away from the bomb as he could get.

Link squirmed under Vaati's tight grip and tried to see what was going on down below. In the next few seconds, Link saw the Caraca slowly get up with its tail lashing…

Heard it's deafening roar summoning more of the dead bodies…

And watched the Big Bomb glow a dangerous white.

There was a violent jolt of power that sent shockwaves all through the arena. Vaati was slammed against the wall and Link felt him fall a few feet in a daze before he weakly recovered and began to hover back in the air again. Shadow was knocked unconscious as the hand that had been holding him had gone straight through the wall upon Vaati's impact, though Link was more fortunate.

"_Fool_." Vaati rasped. His wings beat erratically as one of them now had a large tear across its side that kept him from flying evenly.

Down below, the Caraca's lower half was completely gone and its upper body was hideously mangled. It screeched and it grasped the ground with its hands to drag itself closer towards the side where the three were hovering.

Suddenly, there was a sickening noise as the wall closest to where the blast had been began to groan. Cracks rippled across the ancient stone blocks and trickles of sand seeped through. The trickles turned into steady streams, and Vaati edged away to a safe spot.

It ended in an instant. The wall burst and sand thundered into the arena overwhelming the monster to the ground. Link watched in awe as the giant scraped the air with its limbs to free itself, roaring in rage and blasting fire every which way. Finally, the wave of sand died off along with the Caraca. It gave the three one last glare before the air left it and it slumped down, sinking into its desert grave.

There was a grating noise from above: a door near the upper ledges had opened, giving them access to what would no doubt be the place the Dark Mirror was held. Vaati drifted over, dropped the Links on top of the ledge, changed back into his Hylian form and slumped against the wall. Both of his hands were heavily damaged, his cape had a huge gash cut through its side, and he was bleeding under his left eye. Shadow was still unconscious and a dark greenish blue bruise was forming across his forehead. Link could only walk with a limp.

Vaati scowled. "Bloody idiot." Sparks jumped across his hands and he chanted a spell. His wounds immediately vanished and even his cape was fixed. The sorcerer moved over to Shadow and then to Link to heal them in turn.

"What happened?" Shadow asked groggily when Link shook him awake after Vaati had healed him. He noticed the mage with his arms crossed over his chest, not looking too pleased. "Oh hey, you're not that fat eyeball anymore. That means my idea worked and we killed the sucker right?"

"Next time you have an idea," Vaati bristled "talk to me about it before you do anything."

Link nodded. "I agree. I mean, if Vaati hadn't been able to fly us out of there I think you'd have blown us up in a million pieces."

Shadow Link shrugged. "Oh come on y'all, it worked fine. The Big Bomb – "

"Is prohibited." Vaati interrupted. Shadow cringed when Vaati came snarling over. "I thought I once told you that you weren't allowed to possess that thing?"

"But that was what, how many years ago? And sheesh, I don't even pretend to work for you anymore…I can do whatever I want."

"Oh really? I don't have to pretend to be allies with you. How about I kill you right now since I don't have use for you anymore?"

"I dare you."

"Shadow! Vaati! Cut it out!" Link cried. He jumped in between them and held his sword in front of him. "The point is we made it out alive. If neither of you shuts up I'm going to kill you both. You two know very well I'm capable of beating you."

The two became very quiet. After a while, Link went through the door and left Vaati and Shadow standing there. Shadow was the first to talk.

"He's right, you know," he snickered.

Vaati clenched his fists. "I doubt it."

"The Hero defeated you three times already, right?"

"Are you asking me to hurt you?"

"Nah, I'm just throwing out facts. Don't take it personally."

Vaati charged up an energy ball. "Don't take this personally either."

"Ah, hey! The Mirror of Twilight should be close by – see ya Vaati! I'm running on ahead!" Shadow sprinted out the door away from the displeased sorcerer.

Vaati shook his head. Shadow was as he had been when Vaati had had him working under him. Well, it had turned out that Shadow had been working under Ganon…but either way, that impudent brat had been just the way he was now. Goddesses, it was as though he were suffering from multiple personalities.

The sorcerer followed where the Links had gone. He didn't trust Shadow at all. No matter what Link believed, Shadow was still planning something. Beneath that easy going façade was something much darker, lonely, and cold. He wouldn't be surprised if Shadow double-crossed them at some point in their adventure. Hell, he'd be surprised if Shadow _didn't_ double-cross them, knowing his history.

Vaati laughed. He could say the same for himself. He didn't plan to stick to this strange alliance if it didn't serve his purposes.

The world is a cruel place.

He had every right to return the cruelty.

* * *

A.N.: My interpretation of the Caraca (i.e. fleshed up Stallord from TP before he became all boney) is posted on my dA homepage. Ugh, the more this story progresses, the crazier it becomes for me to tie it together.

**H-bomber:** Thank you! Glad you liked it, and hope you like the future ones.

**Reily96: **The power of friendship wins over ALL (runs away from angry Vaati+Links). One day, lol speak will become a universal language. Yes, we should just go live on Venus because 1 day is like 225 Earth days. Forget about clothes and bring your sunglasses for the hot hot hot weather! Oh...and be prepared for acid rain and thunderstorms. ;)

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Ohhhh no. I've never played ALttP either...so I was never aware of this. Uh oh. Hrrm, it's starting to get tricky staying semi-true to the games. I'm going to have to start breaking away from consistency, as much as I hate to do it. The Dark World I was basing this off of is the Dark World that's mentioned in FSA. Now that I think about it, I think there were both the Moon Pearl and the Dark Mirror. For the sake of what I have written and what I have planned, I'm going to assume that the Moon Pearl and DM#1 was lost (or as Shadow pointed out, one or the other is in Hyrule). Now they are after DM#2 (i.e. Mirror of Twilight). As for changing the form of anyone entering...I might find a way to bypass and explain away this dilemma in the next chapter depending on how cooperative my imagination is being. If not, er...let's pretend that fact was something that arose from a distorted Legend (because it's the _Legend_ of Zelda). Cheap, I know...but it must be done for me to continue....ack, sorry about that!

**Peka the Corsair: **I know most people hate Tingle, but I couldn't resist torturing the three a little more than necessary haha. Y'all are so patient with me - sticking with this story even though it has Tingle in it. XD

**Darkwind: **Spiders? I nearly forgot about them! I'll think about it: if there ever is a chance for me to stick them in the story without being obvious about it I'll do it! ;)

**nintendomerlin-64: **Oh, don't worry about it lol. And thank you! I dreaded the Moldorms in the Arbiter's grounds; kept interrupting me they did. D:

**Bishieluver01: **Or "Hate y'all," as Shadow would say. ;) Already answered this one, but yes, they die if they revive someone.

**D3athrav3n92: **What discipline! Seriously, I need to ban myself from my computer as well seeing how my grades are faring...but seeing that most of my homework can only be done on computer I have no choice (smiling happily...er...no. Bad. Bad. I should be sad, not happy). Sorry about Tingle, the creeper. XD

**I luv Vaati: **Shadow just says the things some people want to tell Vaati, but can't because they're afraid. XD He's Link's shadow after all; he knows no fear lol.


	25. Shadow's Decision

fleets: GAH so busy! I really hope I didn't rush this. Anyways, I really don't know how long this story will be. I'm now at the point that I see the end approaching, but it could be deceptively farther than it seems. We'll see, we'll see.

* * *

**Chapter 24: Shadow's Decision **

Shadow shoved his counterpart aside and grabbed both edges of the ornate mirror. Almost as tall as a grown man it sat proudly in the middle of the court they had arrived in, and its gold rims twinkled lightly beneath the night sky. When Vaati stepped out onto the rooftop of the Arbiter's grounds Shadow was nearly shaking in excitement.

"The Mirror of Twilight!"

Link, on the other hand, was shaking for other reasons. "Brrr, the desert night is a bit chilly huh?" He rubbed his hands along his arms and tried to avoid the cold wind that was blowing between the stone pillars that surrounded them.

"Hey Vaati, give poor Link there a hug – he's cold." Shadow grinned at Vaati's icy glare. "Hehe, I mean it. If you both want to go to the Dark World, you have to give Link a hug. This mirror is only so big that you have to get close to fit both of you in its radius."

Link and Vaati exchanged glances. The blond shrugged with a 'let's get this over with' expression. Vaati, in contrast, seemed miffed. He shot a nasty look at Shadow, stomped over to Link, and yanked his startled partner by the collar in a chokehold.

"Well I guess that works too," Shadow chuckled while his opposite's face began to pale from asphyxiation. He leaned lazily against the mirror with his elbow and rested his weight on it so that it angled towards the two. The mirror shone faintly onto them, and Vaati noticed his feet begin to disappear into blocky black fragments as they were transported into the Dark World. Link, unfortunately, did not notice anything because he was desperately trying to breathe and struggling to get Vaati to let go. Shadow waved goodbye. "See y'all later."

In the blink of an eye, Vaati and Link disappeared into a thin black line in the air. Shadow grinned to himself before he slowly removed his tiny mirror from his neck and pensively turned it over in his hands. He tossed it a few times and rubbed it with his thumb until it was polished to a metallic sheen.

This was it. The moment that would make his dreams and desires come true or leave him with a crushing reality. His entire life would change depending on the reactions of Link and Vaati on the other side.

Shadow took a deep breath to ease his nervous excitement and then in one movement he flicked his fingers and popped the mirror sliver from his thumb into the air. It spun a few times, and when it landed back in his hand Shadow Link vanished from the Light World.

XXXXXXXXX

Link felt a nauseating cold overwhelm him as Vaati dropped him to the ground in shock. He noticed that the sorcerer was a bit green in the face as well, though he gained little comfort knowing that he wasn't the only one who was feeling sick.

No, that wasn't quite the right way to describe it. He couldn't put his finger on it. Link looked around at his surroundings. Maybe it was the dim shadowy nature of the place, or was it the sky whose inky blackness obliterated any warm light that dared to exist? He shook his head. No, that wasn't it either. If it were simply the bitter dark, he would not be feeling as empty as he did now. Link had been surprised. In the old days when he had been adventuring to save Hyrule from Ganon, Vaati, and Shadow's mischief, he had needed to go to the Dark World a few times using the mystic Moon Pearl. When he had gone to the Dark World using the pearl, it had felt nothing like what he was feeling now. He remembered it to have been more of a ghostly experience, as though the Dark World was not really real. Link realized that now, the Dark World was very real. But if it was so real, what was that sickeningly hollow feeling?

"So how do y'all like it here? I do hope you enjoy your stay." Shadow Link popped up right next to them cheerily. He appeared livelier and, though it was a strange way to describe it, more solid. Shadow Link was more animated and alive in the Dark World than the Light World; it emphasized the true difference in the effects of both worlds.

_He really does belong in the Dark World_, Link thought. Even so, Link couldn't blame Shadow for wanting to become part of the Light World. This place was just too damn gloomy. In addition, the fact that everything was inverted didn't help make him feel at ease. He clearly remembered that pillar to be facing that way…and the mirror should have been over there, not here.

Shadow joked around for a little longer before he began to lose his light attitude. Vaati and Link had not spoken yet, and they had the expression of being lost and disoriented. Shadow did not fail to notice this, and he began to look afraid.

"What? What is it? Why the long face?" His voice shook. He made an attempt to hide it, but his eyes were full of trepidation. "What, is this place too dark for y'all?"

Link shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's more like…I don't know how to describe it…"

"It's empty, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Link stopped. Shadow had turned his back to them, his head bent low and his hands on his back. It was the first time Link had seen Shadow look so serious that he began to worry a little. The transition from jovial to disappointed silence had been too quick; it made Link wonder what had caused his counterpart to change so abruptly. Shadow remained that way for a long time.

Shadow tapped his chest over his heart. "Here," he chuckled sadly. "It's empty here, isn't it?"

Link realized what it was that was making him feel nauseous in the Dark World. "That's what it is…it feels like I left some part of me behind in the Light World."

"I guess I should've expected it…" Shadow whispered. He walked off and put his head against one of the pillars of the Dark World's Arbiter's grounds.

"Shadow?" Link took a step, but was stopped by a firm hand.

Vaati gave him a short nod and then narrowed his eyes as they bore into Shadow with suspicion. The sorcerer slowly took his hand off of Link's shoulder. "Let him be."

XXXXXXXX

_What a fool I was to think that the Dark Mirror would be different than this tiny shard_. Shadow's hands squeezed the mirror around his neck tightly so that its edges dug into his skin. _What a fool…_

He sighed. He realized now that his desire to go to the Light World without having the constant feeling that he was incomplete had made him expect too much of the Dark Mirror. His hope had been so great that he had pushed aside the possibility that the mirror would only let people to move between the two worlds, but never be whole if they left the world they belonged in. From Link and Vaati's reaction, it was evident that the mirror had not worked the way Shadow had wanted it to.

_So…I guess I have two options. One, to stay in the Dark World and be complete but forever live as the shadow, always forgotten, unnoticed, and disregarded. Two, to escape to the Light World only to be weighed down by the empty feeling of something missing. _Shadow glowered. _I hate my life._

He grasped his sword and practiced a few expert jabs to get his mind off of the horrible reality. Sword fighting had always been his way to get rid of stress.

Shadow stubbed his toe on a crack in the ground, and he swore loudly as he lost his balance. Frick, he was so bothered by the development that his skills wouldn't come naturally to him. Shadow slammed his sword back into its sheath and sat cross-legged on the ground with one hand pinching the bridge of his nose.

_Nayru, what do I do now? I feel like I lost all purpose in life. I don't have a reason to keep living anymore if the only future I have is misery. _

Somewhere behind him, he heard footsteps approaching and a voice, probably Vaati's, follow reproachfully. He listened for the footsteps to stop a few feet away from him, afraid to disturb him. Shadow stared straight ahead.

"…What do you want?"

Link hesitated. "Um, we were wondering if you were all right."

Shadow remained unnaturally still, leaving Link unsure of whether or not to say anything more. Unseen by Link, the corners of Shadow's mouth curled upward in a crooked smile. _Huh, on second thought…_

He stood up slowly and turned so that the two were standing face to face. Shadow stared at Link until the blond broke the gaze and looked elsewhere uncomfortably. Suddenly, Shadow burst out into his usual spritely grin and leaped towards Link to pat him on the back. The surprised hero stumbled forward. "Haha! Of course I'm all right." Shadow winked over the sputtering Link's shoulder at the sorcerer who was watching them both with his arms crossed impatiently. _On second thought, my life isn't so pointless yet after all._

XXXXXXXXX

Vaati felt a little sorry for Shadow. He knew Shadow desperately wanted to be a part of the Light World, but he also knew that it was impossible. Still, Shadow would never have believed him until the dark imposter had made sure of the effects of the mirror himself. Better to let the stubborn fool figure things out on his own…

"You two ready to warp to Hyrule castle?"

"Are you kidding me Vaats? Of course I'm ready!"

Well, Shadow seemed to have regained his mood. Vaati raised his hands for the warp spell, but then lowered them slightly as he observed something in the distance. It appeared to be a city of some sort, and there was also a castle-like structure in the middle of it. Everything about it was obsidian from what he could make of it. "That doesn't exist in the Light World."

Shadow hardly even looked at it. "Eh, the Dark World has its own citizens you know? Like the descendants of the so called Dark Tribe?" He dragged Link over to Vaati. "Who cares? Let's just go to Hyrule castle."

Vaati frowned. "The fact that that city exists shows that the Light World and Dark World aren't completely identical. I don't want to risk a warp to find that my coordinates are off enough that someone's face ends up inside a wall."

"As long as it's not my face I'm ok with that." Shadow laughed. "Seriously though, the Light World and the Dark World are only slightly off so I doubt you'll warp us somewhere weird. Unless, of course, your abilities suck."

"That slight difference could cost us our lives," Vaati stated patiently.

"Then just warp us to the biggest area in Hyrule Castle with nothing in it. That's probably the throne room."

Vaati nodded slowly. He raised his hands again and then warped everyone to Hyrule Castle.

XXXXXXXXX

"Din's fire, that was too close!" Link yelped as he found himself materializing just centimeters away from the wall of the narrow corridor they were now in. There was a heavy-set door on the end of the hallway and a sharp turn on the other. This was obviously not the throne room of Hyrule Caste.

The wind mage rounded on Shadow Link. "Now do you see why I was hesitant to warp to the Dark World's Hyrule Castle? Just a few more feet off and we all would've been embedded inside that wall!"

"Relax. There's no point getting upset about something that didn't happen." Shadow laughed. "Besides, I know exactly where we are inside the castle. We're actually not too far from the king. In fact, the throne room is just past those doors." He pointed at the door on the far end of the dim lit corridor.

"Hmph." Vaati turned on his heel and swiftly made his way over to the door. Link followed hastily behind and Shadow tailed them. Link's counterpart hummed merrily up until the sorcerer pushed open the door.

Vaati stopped abruptly when he looked into the room. It was circular and lined with several large stone statues. It was the strangest throne room Vaati had ever seen. Unless…

"Shadow…!!!"

"Have fun in there Master Vaati!" Shadow gave a sharp kick so that the sorcerer staggered back past the door and into the circular room. As soon as Vaati took a step inside, the door slammed shut, separating the Links from the mage. Link gasped, but before he could react, Shadow had come up behind him and had locked his arm around his neck. He was immobilized.

"Shadow…what are you doing?" Link tried to see Shadow Link but failed. Instead, he felt his dark clone's breath against his neck as Shadow whispered in his ear.

"Going to take criminals to where they belong, of course." Shadow's free hand twisted Link's arm before he could reach his sword. "Can't have exiles running free in Hyrule, can we?"

Link struggled to break away, but the more he tugged on Shadow's arm the tighter the choke became. "Shadow…you traitor…"

The darker Link turned his head away, his expression unreadable. "No," he murmured as he pulled Link into the darkness. "I'm staying true to my own goals. I always have. If I don't I'd be a traitor to myself."

* * *

fleets: this is for some people who might be confused -

First off, I based this Dark World off of the FSA Dark World. There's little to no information on the Dark World in FSA, so I took liberties to make stuff up. As for Shadow, basically what happened was that he had been tagging along with Vaati and Link not so much to get revenge on the king but to reach the Dark Mirror in the Arbiter's grounds. He'd thought that the mirror would let people move between worlds without losing the sense of completeness, but he was disappointed to find that it hadn't worked.

**Astral S. Kepeire:** It seems I'm missing out on some of the best Zelda games. But yes, I definitely want to play ALttP. Thank you! But it does bother my obsessive compulsive nature that there's no perfect timeline that actually makes sense in LoZ.

**H-bomber: **Thank you :)

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **Vaati particularly doesn't like Shadow Link because Shadow had pretty much lied to him about working for him before (in FSA). Vaati had thought Shadow was working for him, but he was really working for Ganon - this was mostly taken from the FSA manga storyline. Also, Vaati hates most people...or at least pretends to hate most people. As for warping, Vaati doesn't like to warp to places he's never been to. He must've thought that warping past the doors was risky because he could (like he says in this chapter) warp into a wall or something. Hehe, this is my explanation because without it, this story would end pretty fast with all the warping.

**Darkwind: **Of course I don't mind you asking about the spiders! Well, I'm starting to think that it won't be mentioned again in this story now that I've reached this point. :(

**Reily96: **And so the betraying begins.

**Diablo1123: **It wouldn't have been Shadow without the bombs. :)

**Rune Caster:** Oh, it's all right. The bombs weren't just...?

**Bishieluver01: **Right now I think those three need to read that Dwarven Vow. Especially Shadow, the little sucker. XD

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **Well, if you've got two (former?) villains in a group of three, trust will definitely be an issue. As Shadow so kindly demonstrates.

**nintendo-merlin64: **Stallord was my fav! I was happy I could include him in TU. Thank you!

**Peka the Corsair: **I'm happy you appreciate my efforts: it's so dang difficult to make this story somewhat consistent with the games. :)

**Nameless: **I hope you don't mind me calling you nameless. XD Anyways, thank you for reviewing, and I'm happy you liked this series!


	26. Wizzrobe

fleets: (looks at review count) ...wow, I can't believe...thank you all so much for your continued support (faints)

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**Chapter 25: Wizzrobe**

Link skidded across the cold floor as Shadow chucked him unceremoniously into a cell. He lifted himself onto his knees and looked on at his counterpart with disappointment, confusion, and hurt. "Why? Why, Shadow?"

Shadow Link avoided his gaze and stood by the cell door. He managed to shrug, but it wasn't very heartfelt. "You knew you couldn't trust me. Why are you so surprised?"

"I…" Link hung his head. Shadow Link looked annoyed, and he tapped his foot impatiently as though bothered by the Link's pitiful expression. He couldn't bear to stay there any longer with Link lest he begin to have doubts on what he had done. Shadow slowly shut the cell door and locked the bolt. Without facing his captive, Shadow addressed him one last time.

"The king will come see you shortly, I suppose." His shoulders shook from a harsh, forced laugh. "I'm leaving you with your sword, Link. I'm quite the sucker for the concept of hope. I wish you luck." With that, the dark doppelganger left in a hurry, wanting to leave before guilt overtook him.

Link walked over to the edge of his cell and rested his face against the steel bars. He wanted to think that Shadow wasn't really bad and was just a little misguided. Why else would he have left him with the Master Sword? He recounted, too, the guilt-ridden expression on Shadow's face – unsure of himself with his eyes wandering left and right, never in focus of anything. Still, he had had the look of a soldier in a losing war. It was as though he had resigned himself to one last ditched effort to reach his goal but was willing to give up on everything forever if it failed. Link couldn't stop thinking about Shadow's strange behavior at the Arbiter's grounds and couldn't help worrying about him even though he had betrayed him.

But now what was he going to do? He was in a dungeon cell with no means of escape, and he knew that the Master Sword could not help him break the cell bars. At least Shadow Link had not bound him together, but it was frustrating that he couldn't do anything. He doubted Vaati would be in trouble because he was a powerful sorcerer after all, but what about Daeia? With his Triforce and Daeia's, their enemy was now in possession of at least two. Link paced his cell in nervous worry. _Daeia, Zelda, I hope you're safe…_

There was movement in the next cell from Link's pacing. A timid voice made Link's heart stop. "Daddy?"

His legs shaking, Link turned towards the voice. There, holding the bars that separated the two cells, was Daeia. As Link's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the dungeon, he noticed a faint green light bouncing off of her slightly grimy cheeks from the fairy trapped in a bottle high above in the girl's cell. Link collapsed onto his knees in front of his daughter and embraced her tightly through the bars. Daeia cried softly into his arms as he whispered her name over and over again.

"Oh Daeia, daddy won't ever leave you."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Vaati's hands hit the stone doors as he whirled around and saw that they had closed on him. He growled, snapping his cape to the side and cracking his knuckles together. "Shadow you traitor, you think you've got me out of the way?" He threw his hands outwards to prepare a warp. "I can just warp back through these doors!"

Suddenly, he felt something brush against his ankles and noticed an uncomfortable tugging sensation around his feet instead of a nice, clean warp outside the doors. Vaati's head snapped down and he saw that some red runes were etched around his ankles like shackles. The sorcerer glared around the room as the walls reverberated echoes of wheezing laughter.

"Kwuekekekeke! Nay, you won't be leaving so soon will you? There's nary a time when I have notable guests such as you, my dear Master Vaati." Purple smoke collected between two of the four tall stone statues. The room darkened, and then flared into a warm orange as the smoke burst outwards and vanished, revealing a floating silver robe wearing a matching silver hat. Two beady eyes glinted from within the robe, but besides that, it was impossible to tell that there was something residing within it. Even its hands were invisible due to the robe's incredibly long sleeves. It continued to cackle in its characteristic way. "Ah ah, you won't be leaving this room until we've had a little one on one. And knowing you to be the coward that you are, I've taken some liberties and placed some restraints on you to keep you from running away kwuekekeke. The only way you'll leave this here cozy room is to kill me."

Vaati's lips twitched. "Who's the fool who's asking for the death sentence?" His hands clenched together and some sparks began to jump between his fingers. The silver robe chuckled.

"Oh dear, allow me to introduce myself. I am Wizzrobe like all my other brethren who are called Wizzrobe. We place no importance in names, just in skill." It laughed. "People figure out which wizzrobe they'd met by how badly they were beaten. I am the best Wizzrobe, if I say so myself." It vanished as Vaati lobbed an energy sphere at it. It popped back into existence in the middle of the two statues on the right of the circular room. Wizzrobe waved its robe towards one of the egg-like stone statues with a single cavity in its middle. Something like an eye gleamed from the cavity with the wizard's bidding and spikes sprang out from its sides.

"I was told I should expect your arrival, so I set this up in your tribute. Magic users like us have quite some respect for you, Master Vaati. This little thing was apparently created by those fairy tail folk – the Minish, do you call them? They were a present to the Wind Tribe to guard their place according to what I've read." The hem of Wizzrobe's robe swung up and down dramatically as it attempted to shrug. "Actually, this fella's just a copy of the actual Armos that had been initially created. I've made quite a few adjustments to its design to make it more interesting for you, especially considering you blew up all the Armos's that had resided in the Wind Palace when you raided it. I thought you'd appreciate the Armos since you have quite a history with the Minish. Ah, I _am_ correct about that I presume?"

"How do you know about my relation with the Minish?" Vaati asked with much venom in his voice. Wizzrobe blinked, and then laughed.

"My word! I'm a practitioner of the magical arts, Master Vaati! To be the best, you learn from the best, and the best of us is _you_ so it was only natural that I searched for everything about you. I respect you sir, I really do." It levitated high off the ground and waved its robes so that the Armos statues thunked towards the wind mage. "It'll be quite a shame and a loss when you die kwuekekekeke."

Vaati snorted, and he charged up two energy blasts in both palms. Once they were crackling with power he unleashed them onto the two pairs of Armos statues that were hopping towards him. The spheres collided and the sounds of the approaching statues momentarily became silenced. Vaati sneered, but then slowly began to frown when the thudding noise resumed.

"One thing I forgot to mention," Wizzrobe snickered after reappearing next to one of the pillars around the room, "is that these fellas are immune to spells. What was that other spell you liked to use?"

A bright electric blue line fizzed across the sorcerer as he muttered a spell and arced his hands, his cape whistling back. The spells hit the statues harmlessly and they stopped for a little while only to close in on him again.

"Ah yes, the famous stoning spell. That's a spell I haven't been able to master. It shows that I've still got quite a bit to learn."

Vaati sent another volley of shots to push the statues away from him and glared at Wizzrobe who was floating some distance away in amusement. "Enough of this, To Stone With You!"

His spell zapped towards the silver wizard, and instead of hitting his target it went through it. The apparition disappeared, and three more Wizzrobes appeared around the room and began to slowly circle around the perimeters. "Ah ah ah, you can't defeat me so easily. After all, I am the best Wizzrobe. Of course, even I cannot surpass the abilities of the greatest sorcerer alive."

"Then why did you bother pestering me if you knew I could kill you?" Vaati scowled angrily in frustration when he tried to levitate off the floor but found the spell around his ankles were preventing him from doing that as well. He absent-mindedly blasted the Armos away one more time as they had closed in again.

The three Wizzrobes' eyes glinted. "Because if I just happen to beat you, then _I_ will take the title of the greatest practitioner of magic." One of the Wizzrobes raised its arms and sent a cloud of smoke above the room. "Stalling you also happens to be my main job, and so far I think I've succeeded quite well." The cloud dispersed, and the small explosion was followed by a heavy metallic clang. There, in the middle of the chamber, was a Darknut brandishing a large broadsword. Vaati did not like the memories associated with Darknuts.

The sorcerer wasted no time in sending a blast at the knight, but he was surprised when it rebounded towards him. Vaati was forced to quickly set up a defensive spell to stop the trajectory, and then dodged the fire-based spells the three Wizzrobes unleashed while he was distracted. He then shot another round of blasts to keep the Armos statues at bay and irksomely muttered as he ran past the Darknut to take some time to think about what to do next.

"Kwuekekeke, magic will not work on my summons, as you can no doubt tell." The Wizzrobe cackled. "And seeing you're severely handicapped, you will have a difficult time indeed to beat them. Ah, well, the master sorcerer can figure out a way can't he?"

Vaati calmed down. Severely handicapped? This was nothing compared to when he had had absolutely no magic whatsoever. The old dishcloth didn't know what it was talking about. He sneered. "Yes, and that's why you really didn't want to mess with me you fool." He recollected himself, and then snapped his fingers so that a tiny blue flame lit up around the Darknut's sword. "You shouldn't have wasted my time."

The Wizzrobe became quiet. "Interesting…"

The Darknut continued to walk slowly towards him, the flame flaring around the sword all the while. The sorcerer began to smirk when the tip of the sword began to glow a hot red from the heat, and the knight was forced to drop it because the weapon had become too hot to wield. Vaati cast a spell to bring the sword towards him, and then cast a frost spell that quickly cooled the metal so that it wasn't so dangerously hot to hold. The edges of the broadsword flickered green under the influence of one of the sorcerer's spells.

Vaati twirled it expertly, made a running dash towards the disarmed monster, and gave two lightning quick slashes as he passed it. When he reached the other side of the room, the Darknut was dead.

"Not many people know that I'm also adept with the sword as well."

"A spell that enhances the reflex of your sword arm? I've never seen nor heard of a spell like that."

"I'm the _greatest_ sorcerer for a reason." Vaati stabbed his sword into an Armos statue's eyes, hopped onto the sword, bounced onto the statue's head and pulled the weapon back out. He fell right outside the ring of statues so that he was facing their backs. Vaati circled around slashing each statue's crystal with the sword until they became immobile and lifeless. A green afterglow from Vaati's spell sparkled in the path the sword had moved in.

"Any last words?"

"Hardly! Why, I haven't even warmed up yet."

Vaati leaned against his sword with an evil grin. "That's a shame, because you're going to die. Go get them my pets."

"Who –"

The silver robed Wizzrobe didn't have time to finish its question, for as soon as Vaati had spoken a ring of tiny flying eyes appeared around the three wizards. The sorcerer nonchalantly watched the runes around his ankles disappear as lasers crisscrossed the air above him, setting the real Wizzrobe in flames. The blackened remains of the former magician flopped limply to the ground before it disappeared into a swirl of ash. Vaati clapped his hands together and the flying eyes vanished as well. Readying a warp out of the room, he shook his head in pity.

"I commend your efforts, but it was a poor choice to pick a fight with me." He stared sternly at the door as he warped. _But you did manage to successfully stall me. Now I have to figure out a way to take care of Shadow before it's too late._

* * *

fleets: I hope I didn't rush this - I didn't know where the best spot was to stop the chapter. Planning ahead, this was the only place I could think of for terminating this segment. I look forward t writing the next bit. Stay tuned!

**Reily96: **I'm glad you're not angry with him. He needs a hug.

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Shadow's motives become clear in the next chapter, but it's possible to figure it out from the chapters he appeared in. :)

**Bishieluver01: **Yes, Vaati can take care of himself. :) Now can Link's group take care of themselves? D:

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **I try to make this story as true to the games as possible, but sometimes I'm forced to give up and make stuff up on my own. The Dark World I based off of the dark world in FSA, not ALttP, and I made stuff up or ignored some of the issues presented in continuity (like imagining the twilight realm to be equivalent to the dark world). I imagined the Twilight Realm to be as big as the overworld in the Light world and that the only reason it seemed small in the games was because the developers didn't let us explore past the castle. When all else fails, I claim it to be the "legend" of Zelda, and that legends become distorted over time (cheap, I know). As for Link not changing, he doesn't change as long as he has the Master Sword (think of the last part of Twilight Princess when Link doesn't change to a wolf with the sword). Why Vaati doesn't change...well....uh...he's special? Sorry I don't have a better answer for you, but I only thought up explanations to a certain point and didn't think of the problems associated with trying to tie together ALttP (never played it...:( ). Anyhoo, wow, this was long. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this as we enter the final leg of this story arc, and thank you for the encouragement!

**H-bomber: **Shadow's one troubled soul, poor guy.

**Rune Caster: **How sad an ending would that be, if everything ended because Vaati warped them into a wall and they died? XD

**Peka the Corsair: **Wizzy! I kinda liked Wizzrobe, but Vaati prevails.

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **Thank you! And Shadow, yes, the sneaky little prick.

**nintendomerlin-64: **The two make an appearance right here in this chapter. Well, ok, I admit there wasn't too much interaction involving them but they'll talk soon enough. And yup, Vaati likes blasting whenever applicable.

**I luv Vaati: **If only, if only. Vaati and Shadow both seem to switch back and forth from good to bad, but they both actually have one underlying motivation that they go by. Hopefully I make both of them clear as I go along (in Vaati's case, I might reveal it in TH). It might not make sense from one perspective, but if you look carefully you can see what they go by: though I admit Vaati's is more complicated.


	27. A Question of Trust

fleets: sorry if updates are slowing! I'm extremely busy right now and hardly have the time to write. thanks for your patience!

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**Chapter 26: A Question of Trust **

Shadow Link wasn't his usual jolly disposition as he walked calmly to the king sitting on the throne in the Dark World's Hyrule castle counterpart. His boots clicked on the grey stone floor and green torches cast a strange light over the Darknuts standing attention along the sides of the throne. Back in the light world, these monsters would have been invisible to the common observer – but what did that matter? Shadow Link knew that no one but the king's trustees was allowed to be in the castle now and that meant most of the servants and court attendants had gone. He'd also noticed that Bokoblins had replaced the cooks that had worked in the castle when he'd did a quick check of the area after he'd thrown Link into the prison.

He stared stonily at the king. _What a faker_.

"Your highness, I've done what you've asked. I've successfully caught the exile and locked him up in the dungeons."

The king leaned forward in his seat, ignoring the mocking undertone in Shadow Link's voice. "Are you telling me the truth Shadow?"

Shadow scowled. "Of course I'm telling the truth. Why else would I come back here if I didn't have anything to make you do _your_ part of the deal?"

Hyrule's king nodded, satisfied. "Very true, very true," he said softly to himself. He sat back in the throne and rested his chin on his hands as though he were thinking thoughtfully to himself. The king merely sat there without saying a word with a slight smirk on his face. Shadow stood torturously still in anticipation.

"The deal?" Shadow's asked testily. The king raised his eyebrows with a look of feigned surprise.

"You're still here?" His white beard shook after each heaving chuckle. "Shadow, I am no longer in need of your services. You are dismissed."

"Dismissed? DISMISSED? What about our deal? What about giving me the ability to be a part of the Light World like you promised? I've obediently done everything you wanted me to do – don't I get a something out of this?!" Shadow's voice began to rise steadily from anger with every sad shake of the old king's head. "You've been lying haven't you? When you sent me to get Link you probably thought it would've been convenient if Vaati killed me didn't you? You've never intended to do anything for me you lying son of a –"

"Now now Shadow. There's no need for that." The king said smoothly, cutting Shadow Link off. He held his left hand out politely in front of him to keep the fuming Shadow from continuing. Once he had his attention, he straightened out in his seat and steepled his fingers in front of him.

"I do not mistreat people who stay out of my way. People who can't keep out of other people's affairs will have to be," he paused, "taken care of." The king stood up and the four Darknuts stirred and faced Shadow Link. "Did you think I wouldn't notice how you helped Link reach the Dark World? Did you think that I would be such a fool to not notice how you've left the Master Sword with Link in the dungeon? My informants have kept an eye on you, and I'm disappointed by your meddling."

"I still kept to my end of the deal."

"You have lost my confidence. You should consider yourself lucky that I did not immediately dispose of you after your first mischief. I suggest, however, that you do not push your luck and do as you are told now. Leave."

Shadow Link glared. "You can't do it, can you? You don't know how to bring me to the Light World besides this mirror."

The king walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Shadow felt his shoulders squeezed somewhat threateningly. "In all honesty Shadow, I admit I did not think it would have mattered. My goal, as you can somewhat see already from what I've done with Hyrule castle, is to turn every inch of the Light World into the Dark World. Once I'm ready I plan to destroy every aspect of the Light World so that only the Dark World remains. You will no longer have to worry about getting to the Light World because it will have ceased to exist."

Shadow fell silent and stared at the cold gaze of the king. He suddenly jerked and threw the hand on his shoulder away from him and took a step back as the Darknuts approached. He didn't want to believe it. His last hope to make his one wish come true had been shattered before his very eyes and it had even cost him the trust of Link and Vaati. He'd been used. Of course he'd expected it but because his hope had been so powerful he had refused to believe it.

His fury was interrupted by something that caught the corner of his eye. It wasn't anything really noticeable; just a slight twist in the air, a light shimmer. It was as though a crack in space had been sewn together.

Suddenly, something about the king hit Shadow like a brick. He didn't know why it hadn't been obvious before, but now he saw it clearly. The shimmer in the air had seemed to remove the veil that had fogged his mind. Shadow Link recognized what the real identity of the king was. It had to be him…had to be.

"…Ganon."

The king remained expressionless. Then, his lips contorted into an evil grin. "Not quite yet," came the cryptic reply.

Shadow Link backed away from the Darknuts closing in and took one last look at the King of Evil. The mark of the Triforce was etched into he back of the king's hand, and instead of one there were two gold triangles in the design. Had that been there before, or did it appear just now? Regardless, there was no doubt Ganon now had the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom. That only left Link's Triforce of Courage. _I was used…_

A wave of rage swept through Shadow Link, and he felt a new motivation spark life into the soul he had given up on moments ago. His life still held purpose. He dashed out of there, the king's laugh following his footsteps. _Mark my words I will kill you_, he silently vowed.

XXXXXXXXX

Daeia had long since stopped crying but remained clinging Link tightly through the bars. He gently stroked her hair while making sure she was all right. He was relieved that she was still fine, but was concerned about Zelda. There was no sign of her anywhere.

He squeezed Daeia again before he took her hands and stood up slowly with the Master Sword. Another bout of confusion resurfaced from thinking about Shadow Link's actions, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and eyed Fey's bottle that was hanging on a chain above Daeia's cell. The fairy tapped the edge of the glass and Link nodded. He knew he couldn't just sit there and wait for the king to come, and he knew that he couldn't really trust his other two "allies" that were running around the castle. Now that everyone was here, it was every man for himself.

Link reassured Daeia and nudged her aside so she was far away from Fey's glass. He slid the Master sword through the cell bars and lined up the metal to the bottle. "Ready Fey?" he asked. Fey braced herself.

Link swung the sword through the bars just strong enough so that the glass of the bottle splintered and shattered to the floor. Fey carefully flew out of her glass prison and stretched her wings as she flit around happily, spinning around Link and then flying over to Daeia who gave her a small hug. The pale green fairy landed on top of the girl's head. "Prince Link! I'm so glad to see you again! What had happened to you and how did you get caught?"

Link sighed. "Fey, you know I don't like being called that. Just Link is fine."

"Sorry sir."

He walked over to Daeia's outstretched arms and sat back down next to her. He now noticed that Daeia's Triforce symbol was gone from her hand and he looked at her sharply. "Daeia, did they do anything to you?"

She squeezed his hand. "Granddaddy," was all she said.

"She should be fine. The king, or should I say whoever is posing as the king, didn't do anything to hurt her from what I saw," Fey answered for her. "She's just a little scarred from seeing her granddaddy leave her in this dungeon and take her Triforce. She doesn't really understand what's going on, poor girl. But I'm convinced that the king isn't really the king."

"When he took her Triforce, did he have to torture her?"

The fairy sounded shocked. "My goodness no! He simply held her hand and there was a bright flash of light. When that was done, the Triforce was on his hand instead. Whatever gave you that horrible idea?"

Link blanked, remembering how Vaati had been thrown away from him when he had attempted to take the Triforce and his threats of torture afterwards. The fact that Daeia's hadn't deflected the king was a troubling thought: it meant that the king was one chosen by the goddesses and confirmed their idea that the Triforce paradox was trying to resolve itself. Link was now almost positive the Triforce of Power was with the king.

"And Zelda?"

"Is imprisoned in her bedchamber, but safe I assume. I overheard some of the dark monsters mention something about how she's being bound by a magical imprisonment so she can't do anything with her abilities. From what I gathered, she'd been bound since the day Daeia and I were sent away from Hyrule."

Link visibly relaxed in relief from hearing that Zelda was safe. Fey was surprised by how tired and worn he appeared all of a sudden now that his tense anxiety was gone.

"When I was sent in exile, I was forced to walk out of Hyrule with both hands bound by chains and lead on a leash like some dog…" he said quietly half to himself. "I couldn't do anything when the monsters came because I was chained. They had been waiting for us. My escorts were slaughtered and the monsters took me to the dungeons of an abandoned fort. Now that I've returned to Hyrule castle and seen what's become of it, I realize now that something vile sits at the throne. I was chained in my dungeon until Vaati had found me."

"So Vaati really _did_ find you." Fey sounded surprised. "What's become of him?"

Link looked at Daeia who had gasped slightly at the mention of the sorcerer's name. He frowned when he took a good look at what Daeia was wearing and puzzled over how she matched the mage. She even had the insignia of the red eye on the front of her dress. "He's…somewhere in the castle," Link said, appearing even more confused than before. It seemed Vaati had been saying the truth when he had told him Daeia had followed him willingly, but why would that make any sense considering he was planning to use her as a hostage?

"Will he save us?"

"What's that?" Link asked.

"Will Vaati save us daddy?" Her bright blue eyes were so hopeful that Link didn't know what to say. There were two scenarios to this: Vaati had either won her over or the bastard had brainwashed her. He sighed and took her hands.

"Daeia, daddy's going to ask you a very serious question."

Daeia nodded and sat still attentively.

"Do you trust Vaati?"

Daeia looked at him straight in the eyes. Link had come to realize that his daughter had the tendency to do this almost disconcerting stare whenever she was asked to come to a conclusion about a difficult decision. She had the look of maturity that wasn't present in most kids her age, and though Link had first found it to be worrisome he figured it must have been from the influence of the Triforce of Wisdom.

"…No." Her eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to elaborate. "No…Vaati is mean, scary, and lies to himself just like you told me in your stories." She hesitated. "But he's not bad daddy. He's a good man…like you."

Link saw Fey twitch in repressed disagreement. "Why do you think that?"

Daeia dropped her gaze. She seemed to have trouble expressing herself. "I just know," she finally said. "I just know. Daddy do you trust me?"

And that was it. He didn't have the heart to not believe his daughter that she was telling the truth. He was forced to take aside all his doubts and suspicions regarding Vaati and acknowledge that he was not bad after all. "Of course I do…" he managed to say. Fey also sagged, finally forcing herself to let go some of the lack of confidence. Daeia smiled and her features mellowed into ease.

"So…" Link trailed off, addressing Fey. He was at a loss for words. The fairy fluttered up and hovered in front of him.

"Don't worry about it." She landed on his shoulder. With a deadening finality she voiced their conclusion. "Vaati will save us."

XXXXXXX

Vaati warped outside of the chamber he had been in so that he was once again standing outside the door where he had last been before Shadow Link had pushed in inside the room. The Links were nowhere to be found, and Vaati cursed under his breath. Now he had nothing in his hands and his enemy had everything including Daeia. His hands crackled with energy as he readied to blast anything that moved on sight. He was angry, and he did not want to waste valuable time.

Vaati glanced around before he took a breath and began to run swiftly through the castle corridors. The set-up of the Dark World's Hyrule castle was slightly different so he couldn't warp to where he thought the king might be. He gritted his teeth together in embitterment. _For all I know I could be too late._ His sandals kept a steady rhythmic pace as he dashed through the dimly lit halls. _Shadow…how dare you turn traitor._

Just as Vaati rounded the next corner he nearly crashed into a black figure who was running just as frantically as he was. They both skidded to an abrupt halt and got into a fighting stance. It took a split second for the two to recognize each other, and the sorcerer was the first to react.

"Agh…Vaa…ti…let…go…" Shadow Link struggled to breathe through the sorcerer's grip on his neck as he was pinned against the wall.

"What are you still doing here, scum?" Vaati dropped the dark Link and aimed an energy sphere at the gagging traitor who was hunched over on the floor. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your life right now."

Still on his hands and knees, Shadow Link coughed wretchedly. His next words caught the sorcerer by surprise. "I'm sorry."

Vaati stared at Shadow Link. His hands were slightly lowered as he looked on in surprise at the person in front of him. This was not the Shadow Link he had become used to seeing: this Shadow was like a lost little boy who had been left all alone. He looked small, broken, and defeated.

Shadow Link hung his head, still avoiding Vaati's cold gaze. "Let me defeat the king. Please, let me help you defeat him," he said quietly. "You can kill me afterwards if you wish. Just please – let me defeat the king."

There was an annoyed snort and the mage lightly shoved Shadow Link with his foot. "Get up. I don't have time to waste on sniveling fools like you." He regarded Shadow expressionlessly as the black-garbed young man unsteadily pulled himself off of the floor and continued to avoid his gaze. There were pained creases all across Shadow Link's forehead; Vaati had never seen a man look so tormented. The sorcerer's countenance softened even though he did not forgive what Shadow had done. "Shadow."

Shadow Link remained leaning against the wall for support.

"You had better be serious about this."

"Serious?" Shadow Link's head snapped around at him so quickly that Vaati took an involuntary step back. Shadow's face was replaced with hatred and raw anger as he hissed between his teeth. "Serious? The only purpose I have left is to make the king suffer. How much more serious," he asked slowly, "can you get?"

Vaati stood still as he deliberated, and the only sound that could be heard was their breathing. Finally, the sorcerer gave one curt nod. "I see." He sighed. "You know, I did warn you that you were being used."

Shadow Link ignored him. That was the last thing he wanted to hear right now so instead he began to walk quickly through the castle. "We have to hurry and get to Link. Follow me. If we're too late then we're all dead." He continued to walk without giving so much as a glance at Vaati as he brushed past him. "All three Triforces are in this castle now, and if we don't get to Link then he'll have all of them."

Vaati followed after him with a quizzical look. "Did you just say 'all three'?" He kept his eye on Shadow's trailing hat.

"The king. Ganondorf."

The sorcerer stopped in his tracks, and then quickened his pace so that he was running. He caught up to Shadow, forcing him to run. "You lie!"

Shadow yanked his arm out from Vaati's grip, but kept running along side him. "Believe what you want. All I'm saying is that we're screwed if he gets the last one with him."

"He has two?"

"YES! It was bad enough when he only had one. Now he has two, and maybe even all three."

Vaati paled. _But how is that possible? He can't return, Opal said he couldn't! What the hell is going on?_

"Vaati, snap out of it. We have to hurry and get Link with us." He pointed at the stairwell that was in front of them that led to a bolted door. "That leads to the dungeons. Hurry!"

They dashed madly towards the stairs and Vaati even warped them closer mid-run to save time. Shadow Link was just about to unlock the door when he noticed a bubbling purple shadow all under their feet. It was a trap.

"Dear Nayru…"

Dozens of vapor-like hands shot out from beneath them and wrapped around their ankles and wrists. The floor masters proceeded to drag the struggling two down into the floor with them until they disappeared completely.

* * *

fleets: there are still a lot of "why?" questions out there, but don't worry, the answers will come. ;)

**Peka the Corsair: **Finally back to Daeia and Fey! And yes, I wanted to find a way to integrate Vaati's sword skills after BC showed him to be sucky with the sword lol

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Yesssss you caught me being a little lazy and rushy. I also ran out of ideas too :(. Thank you though!

**Reily96: **A little sad because I liked Wizzy. hurhur sword.

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **Ah, thank you! Here was the 'where is Zelda?!' chappy. She's very out of the way at the moment.

**rune caster: **omg that would've been so funny. They would be so pissed. XD Yeah, why didn't Vaati just blast everyone away? I guess he likes showing off, attention hog.

**Diablo1123: **:)

**nintendomerlin-64: **Yeah, the swordfighting. I couldn't imagine him to be good with swordfighting before he stole that cap. Thanks!

**Bishieluver01: **Those three Darknuts were a pain! Lol if you really want to guess just send me a message on devArt

**H-bomber: **Yes he is

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **Shadow still has a conscience. He didn't want to betray them but he was desperate. I mean, he's never liked the king so he probably figured that so long as Link is in the jail he'd followed orders. He likes Link more and he'd want Link to win, so he left him with the sword.


	28. You Fools :April Fools special:

**Chapter 27: You Fools**

Vaati shook his bangs away from his face and tried to adjust his vision. He felt something stir next to him, and he heard a groan as Shadow rubbed his eye.

"Ughh, damn, I can't believe we fell for that."

"Shhhh!"

Vaati tapped the groggy Shadow sharply on his shoulder to keep quiet. His ears pricked at the sound of muffled voices speaking in hushed whispers from somewhere in front of him. However, the place was so dark that he couldn't see a thing. In any case, he could at least tell that the floor masters had taken them somewhere outside the castle and perhaps away from Hyrule. The polished wooden floors beneath them were definitely not something Vaati remembered seeing in Hyrule castle. It was too clean and smooth, and he just had a sense that he wasn't in Hyrule anymore.

"How many of them do you think are out there?" He heard Shadow ask regarding the voices they were hearing. The darker Link's hand was gripped around the hilt of his sword. Vaati listened to the voices closely.

"I'm not sure, but I estimate around one hundred or so."

"Nothing we can't handle."

Suddenly, a sharp click caused both of them to turn around abruptly at the noise. As soon as they faced the source of the sound bright beams of light flooded their faces and they stumbled over themselves from the sheer intensity. Sputtering, Shadow Link covered his face to reduce the light hitting his face and squinted through to see what had caused the onslaught of sudden light. He was about to ask Vaati what he thought the circular black things were that were producing it when an explosive cheer erupted around them. Vaati and Shadow exchanged glances.

"What the hell..?"

"…My thoughts exactly."

Before them were about a hundred or so people who were clapping and cheering among a grandstand of seats. They were garbed in weird clothes – some of them in what appeared to be extremely thin tunics in ridiculously bright colors. Vaati was even more shocked by the fact that the people who he had initially took to be men were in fact, women. Actually, the strange people who were cheering them on seemed to not care about what gender they looked like. _What is the world coming to? Women dressing and acting like men? _

After a few minutes, their audience actually noticed what the two standing in front of them were wearing. The clapping died down and there was an awkward silence as a buzz of confusion swept through the highly acoustic chamber. The lights blacked out hurriedly as though a mistake had been made earlier and someone from the side shuffled over to Vaati and Shadow.

"Come on you two, don't just stand there," the voice said and Vaati and Shadow felt a firm grip on their arms as they were dragged off away from the puzzled faces. Vaati was the first to struggle, but the hand that held him was firm. "You don't want to do that. Just follow me and then you can kill me later 'kay?"

There was a blue glow as a warp opened in front of them. There was something very familiar about that warp portal. It brought back unpleasant memories of armored lizards and oceans and…and…being helplessly without magic…

"Opal?!" Vaati blurted as they materialized to a cluttered room. Shadow Link tripped over some of the many shoes that were lying around and the navy haired girl snickered as she kicked aside some of the micro colonies the paperwork had created. The girl was wearing the same strange tunic-like clothes the people who had been clapping had been wearing along with pants made out of rough blue fabric. Her eyes weren't the unusual blue anymore but a simple green instead, but Vaati recognized her to be the same girl that had given him and Link so much trouble several years ago.

"Yep," she chuckled lightly.

"What happened to your eyes…?" Vaati asked suspiciously.

Opal blanked, and then laughed loudly. "Oh! Hahaha I'm wearing colored contacts! Don't worry, I'm not possessed or anything haha."

"Colored contacts?"

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, why don't you two make yourself comfortable until Fleets is done with being lame." She waved a hand at the girl who was hunched over some sort of flat thing with a bunch of buttons. She had short hair which the sorcerer disapproved of (_seriously…what IS with the women trying to look like men?)_ and had her legs bent up in her chair, and Vaati noticed that every time she pushed a button a letter appeared on the flat object's softly glowing surface. She snapped tiredly in protest that she wasn't being lame. Opal crossed her arms in front of her and tapped her foot impatiently. "Of course you're lame, lame-o. You promised we were going to go see Cirque du Soleil today." She turned to the bewildered looking Shadow. "Aw shucks, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Opal, and though you might not know me I know a great deal about you. I also know Sir Grumpy quite well."

Shadow blinked, Vaati huffed, and the girl who had been typing away on her computer sprang up and shook a not-so intimidating fist in the air. "I never made that promise, and I DID take you to Cirque today because you were bugging me. That's where you picked those two up."

"Pfft, that doesn't count. I didn't see the actual show."

"If you really want to see it, just warp there in the back seat and see it for yourself. Or if you want to pay and see it pay for it yourself. Don't bug me I'm busy."

"See? Lame." She yawned and leaned down onto the carpeted floor after pushing aside some empty water bottles. "So, how are you?"

"What are you doing alive?" Vaati asked. Shadow raised his hand and cut over his question.

"How do you two know each other?"

"We had an affair."

"Ah, that explains why he's annoyed."

"NOT. TRUE." Vaati fumed. "And where in Farore's name is this place?"

Opal shrugged. "You're right. You're not my type girly man." At that moment, the door opened and a certain silver robe floated into the room. "Oh hey Wizz. Fleets called Vaati and Shadow to visit. They want to know what this place is, can you explain for them in simple language?"

"You too?" Vaati sighed.

Shadow perked up, finally recognizing someone. "Wizzrobe! So you couldn't defeat Vaati huh?" He flinched when Vaati mildly threatened him with a glare. The beady yellow eyes focused onto the two, and the robe twirled happily at the notice of visitors.

"Master Shadow, Master Vaati! So you've died as well! Good for you. May I inquire the nature of your deaths?"

"What?!" The two exclaimed simultaneously. Wizzrobe appeared surprised at their reaction.

"My my my, I can't believe you didn't know," he twittered. He turned to Opal. "May I…?"

Opal nodded. "Sure, they have a right to know."

Wizzrobe closed his eyes gravely and raised his robes into the air in a grandeur fashion. Opal walked over to one of the windows and threw open the shades. Young women in scantily clad clothes walked outside walking their dogs and pushing strollers. Wizzrobe let his voice fall slowly to keep their horrified attention. "This, my dear fellows, is the land of angels."

The two visitors slowly let their gaze fall on more of the strange clothed people walking outside in the sun. Besides Gerudos, neither of them had ever seen so many women wearing so little decent clothes. "…oh my goddesses."

There was a loud creak as the girl perched on the chair turned around with a look of disbelief on her face. She arched her brows, and then slumped in her seat in exasperation. "Wizz, Opal, what garbage are you feeding poor Vaati and Shadow?" She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Anyways, Vaati, Shadow, I'm sorry about those two. They were complaining about being bored and they wanted to see you so I called you over"

"Well isn't that sweet," Vaati remarked sarcastically. He was about to say something sour when he noticed something strange about what the dark haired girl had said. "Wait, did you say call us over? Did you send those floor masters?"

"No. I mean, technically yes. But no, no, it wasn't me!" She bit her lip and edged away to the door behind Wizzrobe and Opal, avoiding Vaati and Shadow's increasingly malevolent stares. "Uh…sorry guys I uh…just remembered I had to go meet something!" She quickly made a dash and leaped out the door, slamming it behind her. Opal and Wizzrobe stopped Vaati and Shadow who had tried to dart after her. The former possessed dragon gave the two a fanged grin and pushed them towards the laptop that Fleets had been using. Wizzrobe jovially assured them to relax and offered some tea which was received by angry objections.

"So are we really dead?" Shadow Link demanded.

"Yes."

"No. Wizz, stop fooling around. They were in a serious situation. They need to fight the king before he destroys all of Hyrule or something uncreative like that."

"You mean still _are_ in a serious situation." Vaati snapped.

"Nah. You guys won't be in a serious situation and will have everything taken care of in," Opal checked a watch wrapped around her wrist, " about two hours."

"By which time both of you will be quite dead and at the bottom of Lake Hylia I assure you," Wizzrobe filled in cheerily.

Shadow cocked his head. "How do you know?" Opal moved over and plopped into the chair Fleets had occupied moments before. She pressed a few buttons and a screen popped up. Vaati and Shadow watched curiously as the words "Microsoft Word" flashed and a digital page with characters filled from top to bottom appeared.

"This," she pointed, "is the entirety of the story of you two, Link, and Zelda until the end of the legend. Fleets was just in the middle of writing it before she left. Basically," she explained, "whatever Fleets writes here happens to you."

Vaati and Shadow were silent. After a while, Vaati finally spoke up.

"I don't believe you."

Wizzrobe snickered. "Denying it won't save you from your fate." The silver robe leaned forward behind Opal to get a better look at the screen. The girl whispered something to him, and then Vaati and Shadow saw him nod. "You can't read what this says, can you?" He asked the two, signifying the strange characters on the screen. They weren't Hylian; Vaati had never in his life seen any language like it. "As a linguistics expert, I can translate this for you if you'd like. Of course, my grasp of this language is not perfect so I will only be able to tell you the general idea of what your futures hold."

"Do it." Shadow commanded.

Wizzrobe cleared his throat and began to read, skimming and skipping over the minor lines. "Erhm…_Vaati and Shadow disappeared into the floor as the hands grabbed their ankles and sucked them below._"

Vaati and Shadow looked at each other in surprise. They eagerly neared Wizzrobe and crowded around the computer. "That's exactly what had happened!" Shadow exclaimed.

"Calm down, Master Shadow, let me tell you what's coming next," Wizzrobe replied, though sounding quite pleased. He continued on. "Let's see…Ah! _When the two came to their senses, they realized that they were in a large open room. There was a person standing in the middle with a sword, an evil grin on his face. The king had been waiting for them. But wait! It wasn't the king. In a moment of shock the true identity of the imposter was revealed."_

Vaati and Shadow held their breath.

"_Who would have known the king had actually been…the actual real king of Hyrule! Oh the incredible outcome! The king was actually the king! Who could have ever known?"_

There was a slightly awkward silence.

"_Vaati and Shadow had no time to waste. Shadow drew his sword and made an expert dash towards the imposter who was not. Vaati charged his infamous energy spheres and threw them at the king. But alas! Regicide is a terrible crime punishable by the goddesses. Vaati and Shadow, according to divine punishment, met their deaths by a bolt of divine lightning. Their corpses lay still as stone, lifeless, on the cold marble floor. However, their expressions were peaceful as they were released from the burdens of a painful life. Link fell ill and died from the news of the deaths, and Princess Zelda followed him soon after with her husband's death. Only the young Daeia lived, and she was spared the knowledge of the deaths of the people she loved after a freak accident turned her into an incurable amnesiac._

_With the death of the king, Link, Zelda, Vaati, and Shadow Link, Hyrule melted into a time of prosperity for monsters and Hyrulians alike. The goddesses hid the Triforce so as to make sure no one ever got hold of it again. The end!_"

Wizzrobe looked around at the blank faces around him. "What a happy ending! You should be elated my good masters."

"That can't be…that can't be true." Shadow Link stuttered. Vaati swallowed and nodded in mute agreement.

Opal yawned. "Huh, you guys are pretty boring. All you do is stand and stare. Off you go then, I had more fun with Wizz." She moused over something on the screen and clicked. As soon as she had done so, Vaati and Shadow Link blinked out of existence, their expressions of surprise the last thing to leave. Once the room was settled again, she kicked herself off of the chair and jumped onto the half-made bed. Wizzrobe floated over and sat down next to her as much as a robe could.

"So Miss Opal, what did you think of my story?"

Opal giggled. "Eh, you could've made it less obvious that you were making most of that up."

"I tried, I tried. I'm not much of a storyteller I'm afraid. Fleets is much better at it than I; I wish I could read English or she could write Hylian." The silver robe huffed haughtily. "Still, you must give me credit for trying. I believe my ending was quite happy."

"Wizz, let's watch more movies together ok? Then you'll know the difference between a happy ending and a crappy ending."

"Movies? More of what do you call those…'chick flicks' again?"

"You really are catching on with the lingo in this world even though you'd only been here for a couple of weeks."

"Thank you."

"Anyways, tomorrow. We're doing a Disney marathon so you get a clear idea of what a ridiculously happy story sounds like."

"What was wrong with mine? Hyrule became prosperous. Those two also seemed to believe me, too, so I must've been at least a decent storyteller."

"One, everyone died in your story and the one key person alive turned cuccoo. Two, unlike wizzrobes who see themselves as a unit of creatures instead of one individual, people like us take individual deaths quite seriously."

"Yes, you people do take deaths quite personally."

"Poor fellows. Did you see their faces? They were so much under pressure that they believed most of your story."

"I still don't think my story was sad."

There was a knock on the door and a ruffled looking face peeked through between the door's cracks. Once she was sure Vaati and Shadow had gone, she hopped into the room and slumped down beside the two chattering monsters.

"Those two looked too out of it so I sent them back," Opal explained.

Fleets nodded in acknowledgement.

"I told them what was going to happen to them," Wizzrobe mentioned.

Fleets fell into a fit of coughing. "What?!" Opal and Wizzrobe laughed.

"Ha, don't worry, neither of us could read English so Wizz made stuff up and told what was going to happen to them."

Fleets shook her head. "You guys," she sighed.

Wizzrobe watched her carefully as she gathered a pile of mess on the floor and moved it around the room to make a neater pile of mess. "So what _is_ going to happen to them anyway?" he asked.

Fleets continued her work in moving messes to what she claimed was 'cleaning' her room. "Everyone but Daeia dies. Daeia gets amnesia. The end."

Now it was Wizzrobe and Opal's turn to fall silent in shock. Fleets laughed at their gaping jaws. "Haha! Gotcha, April Fools!"

"Ah, I had hoped that I had finally mastered the art of clairvoyance," Wizzrobe sounded rather disappointed. Opal grumbled under her breath.

"Lighten up, let's go do something. I'm tired of writing," the author linked arms with the two retired characters of her project and dragged them out the room. Opal perked up at the mention of rollerblading and the voice of Wizzrobe suggesting tennis could be heard. Wizzrobe's suggestion was politely shot down with the other two bringing up the fact that he could summon multiple images of himself to guard the court.

Fleets' room quickly became quiet with the departure of the raucous three. The room was still the mess it had been before and the screen on the laptop slowly dimmed as it shut itself down. On the screen was the saved copy of the future adventures of Vaati, Shadow, Link, and Daeia in the world of Hyrule. The bottom of the chapter was typed as such:

_Here's to the chapter that doesn't belong, here's to the chapter that never happened. Here's to an hour of fun and silliness, and here's to some time wasted. But here's to the hints of what may occur, and here's to one last message from the author on this fine spring day. April Fools (not really)._

_

* * *

_fleets: April Fools special. Gave me an excuse to write Wizz and Opal again. :D

Because this isn't an actual chapter, review replies are going to be in the next actual chapter when explaining some things may be easier for me with the new info that (may or may not) come.


	29. Faulty Logic

fleets: (deep breath) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  
And now that the shouting is done, I feel much better. Sorry about my lack of updates but 'busy' just can't begin to describe what my life is like right now. Anyways, I'm keeping the April Fool's special, but this is the actual chapter. Brace yourselves for possible confusion (it's complicated), but I promise you I'm going to clear it before the end.

* * *

**Chapter 27 (for real): Faulty Logic**

Vaati shook his bangs away and tried to adjust his vision. He felt something stir next to him, and he heard a groan as Shadow rubbed his eye.

"Ughh, damn, I can't believe we fell for that."

"And I can't believe you disappointed me AGAIN Shadow."

Their heads snapped up abruptly at the voice and they tensed as the king of Hyrule stood up from his throne and sneered. "Do you not remember hearing me say that people who can't keep out of other people's affairs will have to be taken care of?"

Shadow Link drew his sword and remained where he was. Vaati, in the meanwhile, had his gaze glued to the king's hand. Sure enough, there were two gold triangles on the back of his hand. The sorcerer scowled momentarily and pulled his head away, calculating. The king's voice sliced through the air again.

"I see the famous sorcerer has also come to meddle as well. Vaati, was it? I'll give you a chance to walk away if you'd leave Shadow and I."

Vaati turned his head slowly and stared. His eyes narrowed in skepticism, and then gradually relaxed as a menacing laugh escaped him. Shadow Link and the king waited for the laugh to die down. All this while the king remained standing in forced politeness; a fake smile on his face.

"What is so funny?"

Vaati grinned and spread both arms wide in mockery. "Your _highness_, you must be joking. Even if you had planned to try and kill me on my way outside the castle, which I think you'd had in mind, you have to be joking." Vaati straightened up and an edge entered his voice. "If in fact you are who I was told you were."

"And who do you think I am?"

Vaati turned his heel and paced lazily around the throne room while Shadow Link watched him as though he were insane. With a wave of his hand the darknuts in Vaati's way were flown into the opposite wall and he strolled his way over to the throne so that he was behind the king. "It doesn't matter. It's too ridiculous a thought." He leaned back onto the throne and rested his elbow on a knee. There was a crazy smile on his face. "Shadow thinks you're Ganondorf himself."

The king's eyes glinted. "You don't think I am?"

Vaati scoffed. "If you were, you would be much more eager to cut me with a dull knife and watch me slowly bleed to death and drown in my blood."

"Such treatment is only reserved for my special enemies."

"Believe me, if you were really Ganondorf you would consider me a special pest." Vaati leaned forward in his seat. "Do you remember how you used a dragon to send us to the future? Do you remember the ocean that had smothered all but the highest mountains in Hyrule? Do you remember how I killed you then? From your reaction, I can assume the answer is 'no.' Opal also did say that it would be impossible for Ganondorf to have ever existed." He smiled. "Therefore, you're not the king of darkness."

The king's red robes whirled as he faced Vaati. He stroked his beard thoughtfully and chuckled to himself. "You're right. I do not remember any of the tall tales you've conjured in your head."

"You don't remember them because you're not Ganon."

The king smiled. "I pity you. Obviously you have gone insane, but you seem to have some logic left in you so I can disprove your crazy story."

"I dare you to try. Are you saying you're Ganon?"

Both of them had a triumphant smile on their faces. Shadow quietly listened in on the conversation. The king held up his hand.

"I am who I am," he grinned. He continued when Vaati's smile twitched in annoyance. "Let me ask _you_ a few questions, and you'll see from your answers how incredibly wrong you are. Now, do you believe it is impossible for Ganondorf to have ever existed?"

"Yes," Vaati replied firmly. His smirk began to waver from the other's sheer confidence.

"Why?"

The sorcerer cleared his throat in a scholarly fashion. "The spirit of the chosen wielders of the Triforce lives on through generations. The body it resides in changes, but the soul remains the same. Usually, when the body of a wielder dies, the soul moves on to the next one. When Opal accidentally warped Ganondorf to the future, his past bodies were replaced leaving only his future self. By defeating Ganondorf in the future, his past self and future self were effectively erased leaving nothing left of him. Ganondorf can never exist, and has never existed."

The king continued to smile. "You would like to believe that, wouldn't you?" he asked softly. "There is but one flaw in your reasoning."

"Say it," Vaati snapped. He was no longer grinning.

"If Ganondorf has never existed just as you say, then how do people still know his name?" Vaati's eyes widened. The king watched him stutter in amusement. "I'm surprised it never occurred to you that it would be strange that you have become famous amongst the people of Hyrule because you saved it from the wrath of Ganon." The king's voice began to change pitch to something darker and familiar. This was not the king of Hyrule. "If Ganondorf never existed, then who did you and Link fight those years ago?"

"I…but…that's impossible."

"Oh but it is. Memory is a fickle thing. While it is true I do not remember your story, I'm beginning to recall certain details. Do you know how upset I was when I first remembered the nature of the Triforce and how I had let one of them escape me because of Zelda's meddling? I had them ALL under my nose! And then I began to remember my goal to engulf Hyrule into the Dark World. I remembered my pathetic servants. I remembered that useless scum Shadow Link." He ripped his cloak off of him and there was a flash of dark magic. In the place of the late king of Hyrule was an ominous purple silhouette of a gerudo man who Vaati recognized all too well. "Most importantly, I remembered who I was."

"…You're not Ganondorf," the sorcerer persisted stubbornly but with weakening resolve.

"I'm a shadow of what I once was," Phantom Ganon hissed. "Thanks to you, I assume. But I've returned and I'm gaining strength and reclaiming memories every day. The addition of the Triforce of Wisdom has done wonders, and now all I need is the Triforce of Courage. In due time I will become the true Ganondorf once again." He swung his arms and destroyed he darknuts that had been standing at attention. "Well, _Vaati_, whoever wins lays claim to all three of the legendary power."

"I've beaten you once. I can do it again." Vaati said flatly. _Then I'll have ultimate power at last._

Suddenly, there was an unexpected yell followed by a clash of metal striking metal. Vaati noticed that Shadow Link, unable to wait any longer, had tried to attack Phantom Ganon from behind. The dark king threw him back, and Shadow wobbled onto his feet after staggering backwards.

It was one of the coldest, emptiest stares Vaati had ever seen in his life.

Shadow Link was out for revenge. Though Vaati claimed he could care less, he feared for him after this was done; besides revenge, Shadow Link wasn't living for anything. Amongst the evil cackles, the final fight began.

XXXXXXXX

"There has to be something we can do," Link muttered. He clicked the bars of the cell a few times with the Master Sword, and then went back to scuffing his boots against the cold stone floor. "Fey."

"Yes sir?" The fairy fluttered to attention.

"We can't sit here and wait for someone to come help us." He gripped the bars of the cell. "I want you to find Vaati."

The fairy hesitated. "Yes sir…"

"When you find him, bring him here. Be careful of the king and Shadow Link."

"Yes sir."

The fairy hovered in place, and then moved through the bars so that she was outside the cell. She looked slightly scared and nervous. Fey was about to leave when a small muffled voice called her back. It was Daeia.

"Are you leaving us Fey?" The fairy's pale green glow accentuated the girl's sad expression as they reflected off of her slightly teary eyes. The fairy considered her for a while and then landed on her hand.

"I'm leaving you to save you. Don't worry," the fairy said gently, "I'll come back, I promise."

"Fey's right Daeia. She's just going to find help. She'll come back." Link nodded.

Daeia looked down at her feet and hugged her knees, rocking back and forth. When the fairy moved off again she reached out for one last time. "Fey, wait!" She rested her head against the bars and closed her eyes. "Fey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never listened to you and for being a bad girl and for putting you in bottles. I'm sorry for everything, so come back soon okay?"

Touched, Fey had some trouble finding words. After a few minutes of silence, the fairy giggled sadly and circled around Daeia. "I said don't worry kiddo. I'm just going off to get help, and you don't have to be sorry for anything. Just don't use bottles on me again ok?"

Daeia nodded and gave her a small hug. The green fairy then flittered away towards Link. She momentarily landed on his hand and they gave wordless exchanges before she finally flew out of sight.

Link pressed his back against the metal bars. It was strangely calm down in the dungeons. He fidgeted with his fingers, and then smiled to himself as he recalled the time Vaati had become annoyed with him because he couldn't 'sit around and wait' in a jail cell in the Forsaken Fortress. He sighed and wondered where the sorcerer was now and what he was up to.

All this while, Daeia was kneeling in the corner with her palms together in her cell. Her blond hair hung around her face and she had her eyes closed. She resembled Zelda when she was younger.

"Are you all right Daeia?" Link asked, reaching through the bars and holding her arm gently. "What are you doing?"

Her eyes opened momentarily before they closed again. Her voice came out in a soft hush. "I'm praying."

* * *

fleets: Fighting's coming up! Do me a favor and hold off on "What's going on?" questions until after all the fighting is done. As of now, none of the characters who have appeared really know what's going on so they can't give any answers. So sit tight; you'll know when I'm going to reveal EVERYTHING. :)

**Diablo1123: **Please don't get too caught up in what appears in what games. This story is no longer constrained to FSA because it happens a couple of years after that. I've also nearly given up on making this fit with a Zelda timeline so I'm going to be liberal about things.

**H-bomber: **Glad to see we're on the same page. The reason why I was a bit miffed about being told it was a waste of time was _because_ I'm only doing this for myself (as you mentioned in your reply: I was going for that response). But the thing is, your review wasn't harsh at all - I can handle harsh criticism (and even welcome it at times) _if it's actually criticism_. That said, thanks for liking this.:)

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **I'm sorry about the confusion! I promise I'll try to explain it...soon. Btw, I think you uploaded the wrong document for your newest chapter for your Vaati story.

**Rune Caster: **I'm scared for my attempt to clear everything up in the upcoming segments...

**Bishieluver01: **Yessss more questions. When will it stop?! Well, we're finally at the fight. Gosh I hate writing fight scenes, but it must be done. Let's see how this plays out, ne. And yes, everyone dies and Wizz thinks that's a good thing crazy fellow. XD

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **I needed to write that random crack-ish chapter before I got stuck in the upcoming seriously serious chapters. April Fools excuse. :)

**Astral S. Kepeire: **I won't be splitting this story because it won't be long enough. It's practically done since we're at the final fight already (unless, of course, I'm pulling your leg). XD  
Hmmm, now why/how IS Ganon still alive? (ponders...even though I know the answer)  
That's what happens when I kill my characters. They come bug me in my room. Especially those two. Also one reason I refuse to have Tingle die in my stories. :P

**Reily96: **Nintendo must've rubbed off on me. Once a 'final boss,' always a 'final boss.' :O

**Peka the Corsair: **Ah Shadow, what're you gonna do?

**I luv Vaati: **Not unless the king is...Ganondorf! Whoooo man what have I gotten myself into? 'sgonna be one tough explanatory chapter to write for sure.


	30. First and Last Time

fleets: We are so close to the finish line. SO CLOSE! Well, there's still a couple chapters left but dangggg, we're so close. Enjoy. :D

* * *

**Chapter 28: First and Last Time**

Vaati wiped away some blood that trickled across his cheek from a narrowly missed energy sphere from the dark wizard. He couldn't believe he was actually struggling in the fight against Ganondorf, and the fool wasn't even at full power yet! He should be able to beat that gerudo without having to resort to his ultimate form because _he_ was the most powerful sorcerer alive. _He_ was the best, the hat had granted him that wish! The last time he had fought Ganondorf he hadn't been able to do anything except stand to the side and occasionally help Link because he had been devoid of magic, but this time…

_Is this what it means, to wield the Triforce?_ His eyes darted to the shadowy hand of the king of darkness.

Vaati took a breather and watched as Shadow Link snarled, swinging his sword ferociously at Phantom Ganon. There was a certain single-minded crazed look on his face as he swung his sword again and again and went for the dark king recklessly. Even his enemy appeared startled at first, and Shadow Link managed to drive his sword straight through his torso.

Vaati held his breath. Phantom Ganon was grinning, and he pushed Shadow's sword away from him. Shadow Link hissed and sprung back before he circled around and drove towards the smirking man again.

"You fool STAND BACK!" Vaati barked. He sent a gust of wind that knocked Shadow Link off his feet, preventing him from being skewered by the broadsword that had appeared in Phantom Ganon's hand. Vaati dashed over and pinned Shadow Link back by grabbing him by the collar. When Shadow Link struggled out of his grip, he hit him hard across his face.

"Come to your senses Shadow! You're going to get yourself killed."

Shadow Link became still, but his hands were clenched so tightly that his nails drew blood. "I don't care. I don't want to live in this world anymore anyway."

"Then at least make your death useful," Vaati spat. "And put away that sword, you saw how physical attacks are useless on him."

Vaati's words seemingly knocked some sense into Shadow Link's troubled mind and the he relaxed his fingers. He lowered his eyes, ashamed, and sheathed his sword.

"Are you two quite done?" Phantom Ganon sneered. "I wouldn't want to deprive you of one last chat before you die."

Vaati snorted. "It appears even the Triforce of Wisdom couldn't make you any wiser." He didn't like what he was going to have to do, but seeing how the fight wasn't going anywhere he had to resort to his final form. It hurt his pride only because he had believed he was powerful enough to defeat Ganondorf without its help, but from he way things were he knew he would…lose. Vaati grit his teeth. He hated the word. "You have yet to see my full power Ganon. Unlike you, I survive the worst things without relying on resurrection." He gave a nasty smile before he began to transform into the winged eye. "_Unlike you, I have never died."_

"Then let this be your first and last time." Phantom Ganon blasted a blue energy sphere that crackled towards the sorcerer.

Vaati's claw shot out and deflected the blast. There wasn't even time to blink, for soon after there was a barrage of blasts aimed towards the flying demon. Vaati managed to block all of them with his huge clawed arms, but they tingled and stung from the multiple hits. In retaliation, he unleashed his most powerful attack – a devastating laser beam – at Phantom Ganon.

Phantom Ganon chuckled when he easily dodged the attack by stepping lightly to the side. There was a rumble as the far wall rained down and crumbled to dust. "Indeed you have incredible power, sorcerer. However, what use is it if you can't effectively use it?"

Vaati growled. "_Try this then_." He summoned a dozen small flying eyes and they circled swiftly around Phantom Ganon. Ganon watched them coolly as they stopped circling and their pupils began to flash red. He jumped into the air when they fired thin lasers to where he had been standing.

"Your attacks are so obvious."

"_Oh really? Then you were expecting this as well I assume."_ Vaati fired another laser at Phantom Ganon. This time, it hit the target square in the chest because the airborne king couldn't dodge. Vaati laughed victoriously when he saw Phantom Ganon smash against and go through another wall, but his laughter was somewhat ragged. The attack was powerful, but its cost was high as well. He was becoming fatigued.

Shadow Link stared at the huddled mass that was the heavily damaged Phantom Ganon. He had noticed Ganon had raised a magical shield moments before the laser had hit him, and there was a possibility that they hadn't won yet. Shadow Link tensed when the mass twitched. "Vaati, he's still alive."

"_Tch, persistent pest."_

The shadowy semi-transparent aura around Phantom Ganon shimmered a bit as the rubble slid off of him and he rose back onto his feet. He appeared to have sustained a decent amount of damage, and one of his hands hung limp to his side. The king of darkness glared at Vaati and then began to cackle menacingly.

"Very impressive. So this is your final form."

Something was different about Phantom Ganon. The colors that defined him looked more vibrant and there was some solidity to him now. He was becoming less and less Phantom and more and more Ganon.

"If we're going to play that game, then I might as well use my final form as well; newly recalled thanks to you."

Ganon suddenly hunched over and grew over three times his original size. His skin turned a sick grayish blue and tusks protruded from behind his pig nose. The hog-like monster that took the place of the gerudo stood in equal height to the gigantic flying eye.

The two monsters clashed arms. They were pretty evenly matched, and they came to a standstill in the middle of the throne room. Vaati snapped his sharper claws closed, drawing blood from Ganon's hand. Ganon managed to punch one of his hands free and rip a tear in a corner of Vaati's demon wings. Losing some of his wing power, Vaati slowly began to lose against Ganon's strength until he was finally thrown back and pounded against the floor.

Both of them were breathing heavily in exhaustion. As Vaati shook himself off of the floor, the king of darkness sent a blast of energy towards the eye. The sorcerer blocked it with his already damaged wing, and returned a thin scorching laser aimed at Ganon's arm. It hit, and Ganon grit his teeth in agony.

Off to the side, Shadow calmly watched the battle between the two titans. He had been ignored for a while now. Heh, it was no different than any other day; he was always ignored. Always. He was always the supporting character who was overshadowed by the more important people, no pun intended. His normally keen eyes softened as he thought about his options again.

_Am I sure about this?_

Shadow Link smiled sadly to himself away from the fighting monsters.

_No, a better question would be, have I ever lived?_

…

_Not yet._

He made a running dash towards the fight when Vaati pushed Ganon away into the corner of the room.

_But I will. Because the time I die is the time I begin living._

Ganon and Vaati froze as Shadow Link skidded between them and held up one hand into the air with a mocking smirk on his face.

_Heh…I'll see y'all in the afterlife…_

"_Shadow, what in Din's name are you doing?!"_ Vaati hissed, wide-eyed at the Big Bomb that Shadow held above his head. Shadow Link had trapped Ganon in the corner of the room, and the only way he could get out was to get past Shadow Link and his deadly bomb. Link's darker twin grinned wider.

"I'm going to end this stale-mate Vaati." He snapped his fingers and the fuse lit, the flame slowly eating away the wick.

Ganon growled and brought an arm back in preparation to knock Shadow Link down. "You idiot, I can just send you flying away." He froze when Shadow clicked his tongue and shook his head, laughing.

"You're the idiot, you fat pig. You touch this bomb you die. Instantly." Shadow Link was all smiles. "If you sit tight you'll live a few more seconds instead. Either way, get over the fact you're going to be in little pieces in the near future. Vaati," he tilted his head towards the shocked sorcerer, "get out of here while you can."

"_Have you gone mad?"_ Shadow Link remained quiet. Vaati distractedly looked at the diminishing wick before speaking in stupefaction. "_Shadow…you're going to…you're going to die."_

"You did say that if I was to die, I should make my death useful."

The flame edged closer to the bomb.

"_You fool! I…This is my fight! Stay out of this."_

"It's too late."

The tiny sparks began to glance over the bomb and it began to glow a dull red.

"_You're a bloody idiot, Shadow, a bloody idiot!_" Vaati screamed, struggling with his words. "_Die! Die for all I care! …I'm leaving!"_

The sorcerer disappeared as he warped away.

The bomb shined a brilliant white.

Ganon roared before the castle erupted into a gigantic explosion. The smoke mushroomed over the clouds, and when it cleared the center of the Hyrule castle was completely flattened and gone. Its perimeters were left standing cleanly, but the middle was blown away into debris of stone and remnants of chandeliers.

Rubble was strewn everywhere into the surrounding courtyard, and the only the deeper dungeon floors of the castle remained intact in the deprecated center region. Even so, some of the stairs leading downwards were blocked by fallen debris. It was a charred grey mess.

Around the area of what was once the throne room, a whirlwind lifted a light breeze. In the blink of an eye, Vaati reappeared in his Hylian form shouldering an unconscious Shadow Link. The sorcerer took a look around at his surroundings, glanced at his partner on his back, and gently laid him down on the ground. Vaati hopped onto the broken frame of a golden chandelier to get a better view.

Ganon was nowhere to be found.

"I guess you really blew him to bits…"

Vaati cast a quick healing spell to get rid of his previous injuries. He was glad he had made it out of there alive, considering he had taken a detour by warping to Shadow Link and taking him out of there as well. He didn't know why Shadow was knocked out, but he assumed that the poor fool had been tired from all the action. The sorcerer's ears twitched when he heard a groan and Shadow stir awake.

Vaati wondered what was to be done next. Ganon was completely gone, and he had held two pieces of the Triforce. Did the Triforce blow up into the air as well? He doubted it. It was probably around here somewhere; he could find it soon enough.

The wind mage sighed heavily. "We never really did figure out why Ganon had returned or why he had taken the place of the king of Hyrule," he mused aloud. There was a crunch of rocks as Shadow Link approached a little unsteadily. Still with his back turned, Vaati watched some kargarocs circle overhead. Shadow Link stopped right behind him, and there was an extended pause when the two of them stood very still in the middle of the destruction. Vaati opened his mouth again.

"I guess this means we part ways."

"…Yes."

Silence.

Vaati coughed. "Well, get going then. I don't need your services anymore."

Vaati could hear Shadow's rhythmic breathing behind him. Then, there was the sound of metal sliding against something. The slick metallic sound reverberated in the air around him. Vaati's brows scrunched in creeping suspicion. "Sha-"

_Zing_

"-dow…?"

The wind mage slowly looked down at the blade protruding from his chest. He was beyond pain; or rather, his pain was so great that his entire body had become numb. Vaati convulsed and collapsed to the ground after Shadow Link violently pulled the sword out, and he blacked out instantly.

It was a stab through the heart.

"Hmph. Let this be your first and last time you die, sorcerer," Shadow Link whispered in a voice that wasn't his own. Two golden triangles glowed on the back of his hand and his eyes were no longer a bright crimson but yellow like the desert sand. "Shadow Link is gone, Vaati. He no longer wanted to live, so I, Ganon, took over for him. Wasn't he so…generous?" The possessed Shadow Link stood over the still sorcerer on the ground. A red pool was forming around him, staining his cape into a deep scarlet. Leather boots trudged away from the prone figure. "It was a pity you had to interfere, Vaati."

The wind picked up around the fallen Vaati, slipping his hat so that it tilted off his head. It revealed a delicate face in tranquil sleep, a feature so unlike Vaati that it was difficult to recognize him. His perpetual expression of agitation was gone.

Vaati the wind mage was dead.

* * *

fleets: HOMYGAWD HOW COULD I?!?! (watches reader attendance to plummet). Errrr, well....(runs away from Vaati fans). We're almost at the end anyways, please don't stop reading yet! And sorry for this terrible terrible cliffy.

EDIT: Errr, please hold off on hate mail for this character death. I promise, I know what I'm doing.

**Astral S. Kepeire:** Believe it or not, the last chapter had at least 1700 words (what I usually aim for), so it's not significantly shorter than any other chapter I've ever written. I think it's just because I hadn't updated in so long that a chapter of that length left people wanting more. I really didn't want to combine that chapter with this one though...

**Peka the Corsair: **Clean up coming soon, but now what to do with Shadow Gan?

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **I was relieved no one actually picked up on the fact that Ganon's name was mentioned at the end of BC.

**Reily96: **Blunt knife = scarier than sharp knife in hands of someone who wants to murder you.

**Rune Caster: **Yeahhhh, sorry 'bout that. I realized I had no choice when I'd mentioned his name in the very final chapter of BC when Ganon was supposedly gone forever.

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **Hope that was good enough for ya's :D

**Bishieluver01: **That's an awesome song btw. Sorry about the knew cliffy, it's kinda worse than the last one. It's hard trying to surpass fights I've already written - I'm always worried I'm boring people. Thanks for the luck, I'll need it! Anyways, yes, you can't hit Phantom with a sword ;)

**nintendomerlin-64: **Thanks! Don't worry about it, I'm happy you're enjoying this story. :) Mmmm, yes, Daeia doesn't really know. But Vaati's gone through a lot between big bad sorcerer from FSA to now. Still, who knows if he'll pick good or bad? Hmmm...

**H-bomber: **Ah, well, I'm always happy to hear you still like this :D


	31. The Time to Choose

fleets: This is one of the longer chapters I've ever written. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 30: The Time to Choose**

Fey didn't know where she was supposed to go, but the fairy knew that she would probably find the sorcerer somewhere in the level above her. The rumblings and the groans from the castle walls roared louder with every passing instant, so she knew she had to be getting closer to whatever was making the noise. It sounded like a fight, and if she knew Vaati fights were where he would be found.

"Stairs!" She picked up her pace excitedly when she finally encountered stairs leading to the upper floors away from the dungeons. The fairy was more than glad to leave the dungeon levels where gigantic rats scurried around the cracks and occasional moblin sentries rounded the corners to check for escapees and intruders. After about an hour of making slow progress around the dungeons to keep from being detected, Fey was relieved to find a way out.

Without warning, there was a deafening explosion and Fey was blown forcefully away from the stairs leading to the next floor. She tumbled through the air and was slammed into the opposite wall from the gust of wind that blasted down from the stairs. Startled and dizzy, the fairy tried to recover but was forced to find somewhere safe when chunks of rock rained down and shook the castle foundations. The lights dimmed as the torches snuffed out and the fairy glanced around squinted nervously when the shaking continued.

When the rumbling stopped, Fey peeked out of her shelter and cautiously fluttered out. It was dark without the torches, and only the light shining down from the stairs illuminated the area. She flinched when there was a distant crash – probably from falling debris – and then flew towards the stairs again. Large stone blocks and part of the royal family portrait had fallen on top of the stair entrance, almost completely blocking the way. She found a small space that was just large enough for her to squeeze through and moved closer until she heard voices from above.

Hesitating, Fey listened intently at the sound floating through the hole. Judging from the voices, the speakers were very close to where she was. The fairy carefully raised her head above and almost gasped from the shocking sight.

Instead of encountering the richly polished halls adorned with generations of painted royals, Fey found herself in a grey zone of complete destruction with the open sky above her head. The four corner towers of Hyrule castle still stood standing, but the entire center was horrendously flat. A door creaked as it desperately hung on is hinge three stories above the ground; it lead nowhere for the chamber it had once guarded had been blown sky high.

Still it wasn't the destruction that caused her to stagger in disbelief. A few feet in front of her was a man who was the perfect copy of Link and a purple clad sorcerer. The sorcerer's violet tunic was quickly blossoming crimson as the blood seeped through the fabric near the wound through his heart.

_No_.

Fey watched in horror as Vaati sunk to his knees and collapsed to the ground.

_No_.

A soft hiss of air escaped him as he gave his last breath. Link's dark copy turned his back and began to walk away.

_No…you can't be dead…_

Shaking Fey flew unsteadily towards the fallen wind mage once Shadow Link was farther away. Vaati was dead. Dead. It was just so unbelievable that she became devoid of feeling. Only the thoughts 'Vaati is dead' rang through her head.

Fey knew what she had to do, but something held her back. Her kind had always helped those who deserved to live, not those who were evil. Vaati had never displayed a single act of kindness or selflessness and reason told her she shouldn't do anything.

…_You're a puzzling case, Vaati._ Fey regarded the sorcerer's peaceful expression thoughtfully. He looked so different it was hard to believe this was the same Vaati who had antagonized everyone he'd run into. The fairy smiled sadly, thinking of her assignment and Daeia. Looking on at his tranquil face, Fey wondered if the feeling she had now was what Link and Daeia had always known – the feeling that Vaati should be saved because he was more than just a bad man.

_You're our only hope._ Fey began to glow as she cast a spell. She felt her energy slowly drain away and her eyes grew heavy. She had no regrets because she knew that this is what she had to do to save Link and Daeia. _But if I have no regrets, then why am I crying so much?_

Fey faded away until she finally disappeared at the conclusion of the spell. Her last thought was of Daeia's heartbroken face she had left in the dungeons. _Daeia, I'm sorry…for breaking my promise. _

XXXXXXXXX

Everything was white. For as far as he could see there was a perpetual whiteness that engulfed everything. He couldn't even get any sense of depth perception, and for all he knew he was the only thing that existed in the goddess forsaken place. The place reminded him of his prison within the Four Swords' seal except this time, he had no chance of returning to the world of the living ever again.

"Dying was a lot worse than I thought," Vaati mumbled, taking a few steps forward and then dejectedly sitting down when he couldn't tell if he was making any progress or not. He straightened out his cape and brushed away the wrinkles of his tunic, taking note of the fact that the blood stains and the holes created by Shadow's sword had disappeared.

An indefinite amount of time passed. Vaati was initially upset that Ganon had foiled him, but after a while, he began to realize it was no use getting upset anymore. He was done. No amount of plotting was going to get him anywhere because he was never going back. He was dead.

_Din's fire…_

Dead. The fact finally hit him hard and he didn't know if he should be depressed or not. He decided to laugh because he didn't know how else he should react, and he laughed his lungs out until the sound of his voice in that vast empty space began to annoy him.

Vaati sobered up and sat in somber contemplation. Ah, well, he'd always wanted a break, right? No one could EVER bother him here, not even Link. "This is great," he scoffed sarcastically. "Peace and quiet: exactly what I asked for."

This couldn't be death though, could it? It would be really disappointing if this was what death was all about. Vaati had imagined it to be more of an adventure at least. Maybe receiving some form of final judgment from the high and mighty goddesses. Heck, even having all of his consciousness knocked out would have been better than this vast white nothingness. It was so boringly simple that his mind was wandering all over the place.

But why was he still conscious anyway? He took his nail and dug deeply into his arm until he drew blood. _Death sure doesn't feel any different from life, _Vaati thought, casting a healing spell around the slightly throbbing pain on the arm he had wounded. He wondered jokingly what would happen if he were to "die" in this world of the dead.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and Vaati instinctively brought his arms up above his face to shield his eyes. He slowly brought his hands down in surprise when he heard an ancient, steely voice address him.

_Sorcerer of Winds, it is about time you decided what you really are._

When Vaati's eyes focused on the speaker, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His shock was so great that he couldn't form any coherent noise save for the various stutters of stupefaction.

XXXXXXXXX

Daeia raised her head above her father's arms and tried to see through the darkness. The torches had blown out from the violent shuddering of the castle earlier and it was almost impossible to see a thing. She was frightened by the distant sounds of eerie screeching and yelping from no doubt the monsters that inhabited the dungeons. She was glad that daddy was finally with her; at least he would be able to save them from anything.

"Daddy? What happened?" she whispered. She felt Link squeeze her hand protectively in the dark.

"I'm not sure." His outline became more defined as her eyes adjusted to what little light they had.

"Was it Vaati?"

"…Maybe."

"Do you think he's ok?"

Link shifted uncomfortably and turned the Master Sword over in his free hand.

"Daddy?"

Link pat Daeia's hand and he was glad that it was dark enough that his daughter couldn't see his worried face. All this while he had a hunch that things weren't going to end well.

As though sensing Link's uncertainty, Daeia fell quiet in thought. Down in the cells she knew her daddy couldn't do anything but wait. Fey was gone looking for Vaati, and she hoped he was fine and that he would be able to find them. She was certain nothing could beat Vaati, but that explosion that had shaken the castle wasn't anything ordinary and daddy seemed worried about something as well. She wished someone could save them soon to get them out of there. She wished everything would be over so she could live without worry with daddy.

_Figure out your own problems yourself._

Startled, Daeia looked up. She hung her head tiredly when she realized the voice was only a memory from when this whole adventure had begun. She could just imagine Vaati's scornful face with his edgy voice.

She brought her hands up slowly, going over what Vaati had once said in passing. It had been right before she had stupidly decided to run off on her own to search for daddy and had been caught by monsters. Although it had caused problems, she knew what Vaati had meant when he had irksomely told her that.

She couldn't just sit and wait for things to happen.

Daeia quickly put her hands together and resumed praying again. In the gloomy prison below the earth with nowhere to go, it was the best thing she could think of doing. She remembered what her mother had told her about praying one time before bedtime:

"_Daeia, did you remember to pray before bed today?"_

"_Mommy do I have to?"_

_Princess Zelda smiled and knelt beside her daughter. Daeia was pouting a little, but she seemed happy when her mother came over next to her. "No, you don't have to, but there are things you do because it's good."_

"_I don't get it. Fey makes me memorize all these lines from prayer and I don't even know why I have to."_

"_Fey, did you really make her memorize prayer?"_

_The green fairy jumped to attention when she realized she had been called. "Of course your highness! All the Hylian children – "_

_Princess Zelda shushed the fairy and shook her head. "Children are not going to understand the point of doing prayer if they simply memorize lines, Fey. From now on we're going to do this a different way." She turned to Daeia and put her hands together in front of her, which the little girl copied. "Mommy always believed that you pray with a purpose. Sometimes you pray to thank the goddesses, other times you pray a wish, and other times you pray for someone else. It doesn't matter what you say – it matters if you're sincere about it."_

"_Sincere?" Daeia asked, slurring the words slightly and wondering what it meant. _

"_That you truly believe what you're praying for, Daeia."_

"_Oh." The girl watched her hands, puzzled. After a few minutes, she frowned and turned her head to her mother. "Mommy, what do I do if I don't know what to pray for?"_

"_Then you think a little more and find something you care about."_

"_Mommy, what did you pray for?"_

_Princess Zelda sighed and a nostalgic look came over her. She smiled slightly from a memory. "Did daddy ever tell you the story about the bad man who wanted to take over Hyrule?"_

"_The one with daddy and the sorcerer?"_

"_Yes, that one." The princess gently ran her hand through Daeia's locks. "When I was locked up by the bad man, I couldn't do anything. I knew that with each passing day the bad man was closer to achieve his goal."_

"_Did you pray for daddy and his friend to come save you mommy?"_

"_No. I prayed for daddy to be safe. I was afraid, but not for myself but for daddy. Every day I was afraid that daddy may die so I prayed."_

_Daeia giggled. "And then daddy and his friend came and saved you."_

"_That's right." Princess Zelda brought up a hand and laughed along lightly. "They saved me and everyone else, too." When her laughter died down, a grave look came over her and she slowly rose on her knees. Daeia watched her mother curiously, wondering why she seemed so somber all of a sudden. Princess Zelda closed her eyes, took her daughter's hands, and brought them together. "Daeia, if you are ever in trouble and there's nothing you can do, remember to pray. The goddesses may be listening to you."_

_Daeia nodded, eager to please her mother. When Princess Zelda gracefully left her room, she prayed together with Fey and went to sleep without giving a second thought to her mother's last words. _

Daeia knew what her mother had meant now as she clasped her hands tightly together and prayed. She prayed for things to turn out all right and for the goddesses to watch over Vaati and Fey. No matter what anyone said about Vaati, Daeia knew he wasn't the evil man some people thought he was. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed.

…_You truly believe that, do you not, young princess?_

The voice held a gentle sort of nobility that rang delicately in her head.

_Do not open your eyes. _

Daeia kept them shut at the command and wondered if daddy could hear the voice as well.

_You are young, and though you may not fully understand it yet you possess wisdom that most people may never achieve in their lifetime. Even so, you pray for someone to help a man full of hate and spite. It is hard for me to understand why you feel this way._

"Can you help Vaati?" Daeia asked the voice quietly. Next to her, Link looked at her before turning away, assuming she was praying in concentration.

_I can, but I do not know if I will. It will be an unusual case. Why do you pray and insist the divine to help?_

"Because I…don't want Vaati to get hurt. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I just want everything to be over!" Daeia felt a tear run down her face. Reminded of everything she had gone through, her stress finally got to her. "I just want things to go back the way they were and I don't want anyone to be sad anymore. I wish…" she sniffled and lifted her lids slightly, "I wish I can help everyone from getting hurt…"

Suddenly, Daeia's hands shimmered gold and Link gasped in surprise when the Master Sword propped across his lap erupted into blinding white light. Daeia kept her gaze on the shining sword in mesmerized awe.

She didn't know how she knew, but she was aware she had to move her hands in an intricate pattern that she figured instinctively. When the spell was done, the Master Sword vanished in a bolt of light.

_As you command, chosen of the Triforce of Wisdom._

When the light died down, Daeia and Link both sunk to their knees speechlessly. Link pat the space around his lap where the Master Sword had been moments before and kept staring at his daughter with a look of sheer disbelief on his face. Daeia was also in a state of awed stupor, and she rested her head against the cell bars and Link's arm.

"Daeia…that was…that was white magic…" Link breathed. It was so unexpected that he didn't know what to say.

Daeia smiled and her eyes drooped heavily from her sudden exertion. Her breath slowed as she fell into a calm restful sleep.

XXXXXXXXX

Vaati regained his composure after a few minutes of gawking at the two that had appeared in front of him. His open mouth of shock soon reverted to a frown of extreme dislike. To his right was a pale green fairy and it would have been disconcerting considering Fey didn't seem to notice he was there, but Vaati was more focused on the one on the left.

The one in the left was a presence he had inherently come to despise more than anything in the world. Its kin was responsible for every single one of his downfalls in what he though was an otherwise masterful plan to take over Hyrule.

With a blade that shone with a holy light, the Master Sword hovered in front of Vaati with an aura of judgment. Its amber gem glimmered, and Vaati could feel it analyze him with a cool, hard glint. The sorcerer glowered straight back.

_Vaati. We meet again._

"What are you doing here?" Vaati spat. He was not happy to see the sword at all. He began to feel slightly miserable: his first hours of death were not going well.

_I was sent so you may make a choice. A choice regarding the path you wish to take._

"The path I take is the path I take. There's nothing difficult to understand about that."

_And pray tell what is the path you take? Are you the villain you were or a hero you may be?_

Vaati became silent. It was a question he had asked himself many times over whose answer he kept avoiding.

_I know the answer, Vaati. It is only a matter of whether you choose what you want to be, what you believe you should be, and what you feel you are. _

"Then what is the answer you piece of metal? What am I?" Vaati growled.

_You know it yourself. _

Vaati was about to retort, but it was true: he did know.

_Yes. Who you were hundreds of years ago when you terrorized Hyrule is someone different from the person who stands here today. Why else do you think you were allowed to touch the Blade of Evil's Bane before? You're not a villain, sorcerer, but you are afraid to admit that. You are afraid that if you accept the fact that you can be a hero you have not paid the price of the atrocities you have committed. When you remain the villain, you have the ultimate excuse as to why you performed evil deeds. _

"I don't care about 'paying the price.' I'm just…I'm just not a damned hero."

_Hear the uncertainty. You are afraid and you cannot admit it. You are afraid because you are not without morals. Perhaps the one thing that may forever haunt you is the fact that almost no one but you remembers every crime you have committed. You feel like you don't deserve living on in a world where people believe you are good when you believe you are not – it feels like a lie, does it not?_ The sword was speaking in a sympathetic tone now. _Let me tell you this – it is a terrible thing to dwell on the past as you have done. It destroys you piece by piece until you cannot take it anymore. Do not be afraid to embrace what you are now and learn to accept that you were wrong hundreds of years past. _

"I don't appreciate all this sappy nonsense. You make me sound as though I care about what I've done in my life and that I've harbored regrets. Well I don't and you're wrong." Vaati tried to snap, but he surprised himself when his voice came out in a tremor. He looked down and saw that his hands were shaking. He stared at his hands for a while, and then squeezed them shut angrily. "What does it matter anyway? I'm dead and it doesn't matter what I do anymore. Leave me." Vaati turned his heel, his cape jerking behind him. He walked a few paces away and then stopped, reaching up and sliding his hat off of his head. He played with the hat in his fingers for a while and rubbed the red jewel between his fingers. The sorcerer appeared lost.

_But it does matter, sorcerer. _The Master Sword said softly after Vaati had calmed down. The gold gem on the sword glimmered and the fairy that had been uncannily static flitted up into the air. Fey glanced around her surroundings until she saw a somber looking sorcerer standing a few feet away from her.

"…Vaati?"

Vaati's ears twitched, and his head turned slightly towards the fairy. His face was a blank and without expression.

Fey flitted closer hesitatingly. She didn't seem to be able to see the sword next to her.

"Vaati," she began again. "I don't know how to say this but I don't have much time…"

At this point, Vaati turned his face away from the fairy again and went back to staring at his hat so she couldn't see his expression.

"Can you promise me to save Daeia if you are revived from death?"

The fairy watched Vaati's back waiting for his answer nervously. She wondered why he seemed so bothered by something.

Vaati sounded defeated when he spoke next. It was a tired heavy voice. "Why would you revive me?"

Fey buzzed her wings in annoyance. "Oh don't worry, I don't like you one bit. I heard from the Minish elder what you'd done to Hyrule and a part of me thinks you would be better off dead. I'm saving you because Daeia and Link needs you now Vaati. Hyrule needs you."

A smile played along the sorcerer's lips. "Hyrule needs me?" He chuckled quietly. "How ridiculous…"

"Vaati, promise me please."

Still with the smile, Vaati nodded thoughtfully. "I don't make promises."

"You -!"

Vaati cut her off with a hand. He finally turned to face the now fuming fairy. He chuckled. "You know about my past?"

"Most of it starting from the time you turned Ezlo into a hat. Vaati…please…Daeia…"

Vaati flinched a little from hearing his old master's name, but then went back to smiling to himself. "I see…" He noticed the fairy had begun to disappear and that little water droplets had begun to fall below the fairy. Fey was crying. Vaati watched her with a distant amused expression. "Fey?"

"What?" the fairy lashed in a trembling voice.

Vaati shook his head with the smile still on his face. "I appreciate the fact you don't think I'm as good as those idiots think I am."

Fey looked at him in shock. Vaati had sounded so lonely and his mischievous smile held a deep sadness. Fey felt herself slowly fade away but she couldn't keep her eyes off of the sorcerer. Vaati's bitter words had been his way of saying the 'thank you' he couldn't bring himself to say.

A feeling of pity came over Fey. Vaati's expression had finally allowed her to piece together what Vaati was. She remembered his anger towards Ezlo and how he had sounded betrayed when he was venting about his old master, she remembered Terrari's words on how Ezlo and Vaati had used to get along, and she remembered how they had first encountered Vaati near the village he had once lived near with Ezlo.

He was lonely, and yet couldn't do anything about the fate he had subjected himself to. Fey relaxed, somehow realizing that she could trust Vaati to save Hyrule, promises or no.

"You're not good, Vaati," Fey said right before she disappeared, "but you're not as bad as you think you are…"

_You see, _the Master's Sword's voice rang in Vaati's head after Fey had vanished leaving only the quickly dissipating tear drops on the floor, _there are others who see through you more than you know – you have nothing to be ashamed of._

"Who ever said I was ashamed?" Vaati whispered weakly at the empty space where the fairy had been. He wasn't going to be dead? Why…

_You are needed Vaati, that is why. _

"Why can't it be Link? He's the hero…"

_And why can't it be you?_

Vaati didn't say a word. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the sword.

_I did not come here to persuade you to become a hero. Rather, I came here to make you choose what you are. _The sword glowed and the surroundings began to twist and wave with dull grey colors. _In thirty seconds you will be returned to life. Before that, you must decide to take up this hilt or to stay a demon. _

The colors solidified until the outlines of the decimated Hyrule Castle became distinguishable. Vaati continued to glower.

_Whatever you decide, beware of this._ The Master Sword warned. _No matter what path you choose to follow I fear you will always be troubled by your decision until it eventually eats up your soul. This is the punishment for the sins you have committed. Let this notion at least let you accept that there is nothing out there that should make you feel as though you do not deserve what you have. In due time you will pay for what you have done. _

Vaati's expression softened if only for a little while.

_The only thing left for you to do now is to choose who you want to be for you will suffer in both paths you take. Will you work for the light and take this sword or be a servant of the dark?_

The wind mage held his steady gaze at the Master Sword. The details of the debris and stone became focused, and they could even see the possessed Shadow Link turn his head and widen his eyes at the sight of Vaati.

The wind whipped around the sorcerer.

Vaati made his decision.

* * *

fleets: Oh come on. You didn't REALLY think he would die like that and never be mentioned again did you? It was interesting reading everyones reviews for the last chapter - people seemed shocked that I had opted to let Vaati die, but it was necessary. The twists don't end here; keep your eyes out for the next one!

By the way, I don't think I've ever made this too clear but PLEASE refrain from guessing away the plot twists in reviews. If you want to guess away, please do so in a PM or a post on my devArt account. Just...not in the reviews. Please. Greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading. :)

**Reily96: **Exactly what I was going for. :) And yes, it was necessary for what's to come.

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Who said it was going to end without Vaati? ;) This is the Legend of Zelda we're talking about where fairies and magic abounds. I toldja there's still hope...because I'M a Vaati fan myself :D

**Bishieluver01: **O.o Uh...well...sniveling scrawny throat ey? (holds up hands) Really there's no need for that sort of violence. The hint in the last chapter was, as you kinda caught, was that neither Shadow nor Vaati kicked the bucket with _dignity_. They've become too important for me to just throw them away like that. ;)

**Diablo1123: **Shadow Link has become one of my favs too :)

**Darkwind: **Nope. Like Ganon, he doesn't die easily.

**S: **Yeah, so, please no more guessing in the reviews because I don't want other people to maybe figure out what I might do in future chapters (and you did end up getting the Fey part correct...). But I'm happy you like the story to the point that Vaati's death bugged you. One thing though - I'm pretty cold blooded when it comes to killing off characters as long as they get a memorable end. When it happens...it will happen if I think it appropriate.

**I luv Vaati: **Yes, don't worry he's still alive.

**Peka the Corsair: **I believe you probably guessed correctly? It would have been cold of me if I just let him die like that and end it.

**Gyorgia: **Eh, Shadow's technically not dead yet. He's just possessed. As for Vaati, well, he's going to make a comeback!

**Azure Inu: **This is what I'm *navi*ing talking about XD

**Dea Letum: **Aw, thanks for liking this story. Yeah, Ganon's a jerkface. The guy's evil.

**snowcreek: **Din's fire...XD

**H-bomber: **And Vaati returns!

**nintendomerlin-64: **Cooked...bacon? Haha actually that sounds like what Shadow would do if he was in a lighter mood.

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **Not so sad anymore, I hope?


	32. After All These Years

fleets: Man I'm tired and beat. This chapter was no cakewalk to write, but I have to say I looked forward to this :')

* * *

**Chapter 30: After All These Years…**

Vaati made his decision.

He took the hat he had been holding in his hands and placed it on his head. Then, just as the Master Sword began to fade away he reached out and closed his hands around its hilt.

_No more denying then?_ The Master Sword sounded somewhat surprised by the mage's decision. Vaati cast the same spell he had used with the sword on Wizzrobe and gave it an experimental twirl.

"I just decided I'll use the thing that allowed Link to win for a change," Vaati replied. He smirked to himself. Heh, still can't admit it eh? It must be habit.

Shadow Link spun his sword and grinned dangerously. His ghostly and lifeless yellow eyes followed the length of the sorcerer's arm to the legendary sword with disgust and a hint of fear. The sword's gem seemed to glimmer disdainfully in return.

"I see you were lucky this time, sorcerer." Shadow Link sneered, grinding some debris under his heel. "Had some help from Link's scrap metal did you?"

"A fairy, actually," Vaati said coolly. "This sword was optional, but previous experience demonstrates this 'scrap metal' is pretty powerful."

"Oh aren't you the hero, getting help from your little friends along the way."

The corners of Vaati's mouth twitched and he clenched his hands around the Master Sword's hilt even tighter. The possessed Shadow Link cackled in glee at the sorcerer's obvious discomfort.

"Don't you like being just like the hero boy, going to save Hyrule with that fancy sword? Who do you think you are, Vaati? Link?"

Vaati was about to throw the sword down and transform into his demon form to pummel Ganon Shadow to the ground, but quickly stopped himself. Why should Shadow Link's words bother him anyway? He relaxed his grip so that his knuckles weren't white against the violet hilt anymore and he took a couple of deep breaths. It was unsettling that he was holding the weapon he had abhorred with a passion, and it was even more disturbing that he had chosen to take Link's role this time around. However, he had made up his mind when he had reached out and clasped his fingers around the sword, and now that he had there was no going back. A smirk began to creep on his face and Shadow stopped jeering.

"What's so funny?" Shadow Link tensed in anticipation. The sorcerer noticed, and his amusement amplified.

"Just a thought crossed my mind." Vaati examined the Master Sword nonchalantly. "Ganon, have you ever noticed a trend on who wins and who loses?"

The possessed Shadow Link stared blankly, uncomprehending.

The metal of Vaati's sword began to vibrate with energy. The sorcerer smiled broadly. "It's the hero who always wins."

Vaati lunged forward with the sword thrust out. Shadow Link sidestepped nimbly on his feet and blocked the blow. It hadn't been a powerful hit, but as soon as the swords collided Shadow Link felt a slicing wind rush up the length of his own blade. Surprised, he jumped back with a start and eyed Vaati carefully. The wind sorcerer smiled smugly and swung his sword again.

The sorcerer's reflexes were significantly improved by his spell and his lack of physical strength was made up for with some sort of wind magic imbued with the Master Sword. Vaati seemed to have the upper hand, and he continued to push Shadow Link until he had pinned him to the ground with the sword tip pressed against his throat. Shadow Link's eyes widened, and then he burst out laughing much to the sorcerer's surprise.

"Hahaha Vaati, Vaati, Vaati. I must say I'm impressed." The possessed Shadow Link melted into the ground and vanished. "I'll have to give you a little more of a challenge."

The air moved behind Vaati, causing him to whirl around and block a blow to the head just in time. The sorcerer huffed at the shadow with condescending confidence until he noticed something behind Shadow Link. Vaati became at a loss for words and he froze up in trepidation.

"That's right. Doesn't this bring back fond memories, Vaati?" Shadow Link grinned maliciously at the wind mage's expression. There was a line of glowing gold where the Triforce of Power and Triforce of Wisdom shone on the four dark hands. Behind the first Shadow Link were three others, each with identical looks of pure evil. "You were one to fight four Links at a time, correct?"

Vaati cursed under his breath. Ganon was a warlock, and now that he had the power of the Triforce of Wisdom as well, it shouldn't have been a surprise that he would be able to cast some unusual powerful spells. He was caught off guard by four swords rushing at him, and though he was able to block them all Vaati lost his balance and stumbled before he caught himself. Noticing the sorcerer's unsteady footing, the four Shadow Links dove in from all sides for a second attack. Vaati grit his teeth in pain as one of the blades seared across his left arm and he was forced to take to the air and scatter a volley of magic blasts to make some time to recover.

Vaati cursed again. He'd lost focus the moment Shadow Link had split into four, and it wasn't because he couldn't handle the number. He knew it was psychological. Was it fear? Not really…but he knew his hesitation had something to do with the fact that fighting four Links reminded him too much of his battles with Link and the Four Swords. He'd always lost when he fought against four Links, and this history was making him involuntarily lose confidence in the fight. _Snap out of it_…he mentally slapped himself.

The four Shadow Links sent energy blasts in return. Vaati quickly set up a shield, and on reflex he sent back more of his own. The Shadow Links appeared to have been waiting for this moment, for they lined up neatly in front of the volleys and hit them hard with a swing of their swords causing the spheres to rebound back to the shocked sorcerer. The volleys that had increased in speed all hit Vaati squarely in the chest; he was only saved by what had remained of his shield spell from before.

Still, Vaati was rattled. His mind was going blank and all he could see were the four Links. He was going back to his old habits that had made him lose against Link time and time again, and he couldn't do anything about it. He'd lost focus. He couldn't think, not with those four damned swords glinting all around him. _Not again._ His mind raced. _Not again…I can't do this…_

More magic came from nowhere with Shadow Link taking advantage of Vaati's disorientation. Vaati howled in pain with each hit and he fell back down to the ground like a dead autumn leaf.

_Why can't I win against Link?_ Vaati's vision was blurred between the past and the present. He was beginning to lose track of where he was, and if he was fighting Link or a possessed Shadow Link. Everything was too familiar. _Against all odds he always wins…_

From the corner of his vision he noticed the four Links dash towards him with their dark swords raised. Vaati loosened his hold on the Master Sword to summon his flying eyes. His fingers were about to slip from the hilt when the fading voice of the sword dropped a harsh reminder.

_You've already made your decision, sorcerer. _

He hesitated. The Links running towards him lost their color and became four murky shadows. _That's right…this isn't the same as previous fights. This isn't Link with the Four Swords, but Ganon._ He twirled the sword and stood calmly in the face of the cold metal blades flashing towards his bare neck with incredible speed. _Thanks for the reminder._

A sharp screech reverberated through the dry dusty air as the four blades scraped against each other in the place where Vaati had been. Noticing the sorcerer had vanished, the Shadow Links quickly turned around with their backs touching. It wasn't quick enough, and soon there was a sword through one of them. "The hero always wins, Ganon," Vaati repeated.

A hideous scream escaped the possessed Shadow Link, and Vaati looked on with a stern expression as a vortex ripped around the four Links. The wind drowned out the scream of agony until the three other copies faded away and only one was left.

The sorcerer pulled out his sword and caught Shadow Link in his arms before he fell to the ground. A poisonous looking cloud slithered away from Shadow Link and whirled around the Master Sword, stretching slightly away from the metal as though resisting its pull. Finally, it dissipated with a golden light so bright that it could be seen through closed eyes. Two shining triangles hovered a few feet away like newly made stars. Ganon was gone.

Vaati avoided looking at the mortal wound through Shadow Link and placed him gently on the ground. The possessed yellow eyes had returned to their original crimson color, but they remained as lifeless as before. The wind mage brushed his fingers over the unblinking lids and closed them; if he'd been alive, Shadow Link probably wouldn't have wanted to see how he didn't bleed like his counterpart. Only a shadow…

_That wasn't true, you know. You were just as annoying as Link…if not more._

Vaati stood up and regarded the twinkling triangles before him. This was it. After all those years of humiliation, frustration, and agony he was finally going to get what he wanted. He made a sideways glance towards the fallen Shadow Link.

Was it all worth it?

Vaati shook his head. It was no use thinking that now. Why should he hesitate at this moment when all his life he'd suffered and made everyone else suffer to get to where he was now?

_I thought I would be happier._

Where's the sense of overwhelming triumph? He searched his feelings and found a small sliver of reveling pride but beyond that was muddled uncertainty. He searched some more, and came across the core of his doubt.

He'd spent so much of his life to achieve this goal that he couldn't comprehend what he would do without it. When everything was finished, what could he work for? Where could he place his passion? The people who had sparked his strive for ultimate power were long since dead, and he realized for the first time that he didn't know what the point of everything had been. Maybe it was to prove to himself and the world that he was the best.

No.

At this point, it was because…

_I want an end. A finish line. This has gone on for far too long…_

Vaati took a wavering step towards the two pieces of the Triforce. He scowled in disgust at his lack of resolution. Recollecting himself, he straightened up and forced a victorious grin. Throwing both hands into the air, he declared loudly to the empty remains of Hyrule Castle. "HAHahahaha! I did it you fools! I'm the most powerful sorcerer alive and no one can ever stop me!" Vaati continued to laugh forcefully and he took a determined step towards the Triforce pieces and reached out with his hand.

"_Think carefully before you do what you are about to do, Sorcerer of Winds."_

Vaati stopped and looked around to find the owner of the voice. With fathomless wisdom, it held a beauty and serenity beyond compare of mere mortals. The sorcerer suddenly felt small within its presence. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"_The power of the goddesses is not meant for you." _This voice was a little rougher around the edges, fiery and fierce, although it was still as graceful as the last.

"Come out where I can see you, you cowards!" Vaati snarled.

Without warning, the world was engulfed in dazzling light and Vaati found himself surrounded by three ethereal figures. They were women of extraordinary beauty. Slightly taller than the other two was Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom. Sapphire locks flowed smoothly around her perfect face, and though her marble skin reflected youth her doe eyes looked on at the sorcerer with oceans of sophistication. Din, the Goddess of Power, had her toned bare arms crossed sternly in front of her slim tanned figure. Her flaming hair billowed in the wind, complementing her commanding personality. Lastly, bathed in emerald, the Goddess of Courage placed a delicate hand on the bewildered sorcerer's shoulders. Vaati's furious exterior melted away with her gentle smile.

"_If you do not die from the power, you will surely lose your mind."_ Farore said quietly, her soft-spoken voice laying down a blanket of calm that muffled down the tension.

"I…" There was a loud clank as Vaati released his grip on his sword. A million thoughts were running through his head, none of them coherent. A long time ago he'd lost faith in the divine. He'd convinced himself that the goddesses were simply a legend and that they no longer existed, if they'd existed at all. If they were so great and were aware of all the problems going on in Hyrule, why…why didn't they ever step in and help the conflict themselves? Why watch on passively as someone like him or Ganon went on to crush Hyrule? "Why, if you existed, did you make some poor fool save Hyrule instead of you, time and time again?"

The light of the goddesses flickered.

"Why didn't you just stop me those years ago if you cared so much about Hyrule? Do you not care? If you're so great why did you have to go send Link to stop me? Why make some fool do your dirty work?!" Vaati's voice had risen to a shout. "Why the hell did you decide to show up now all of a sudden?!" He threw off Farore's hand from his shoulder and screamed.

The goddesses waited for Vaati to calm down. Once he stopped screaming, he held his head in his hands tiredly and slumped onto the cracked remains of the throne room. He breathed heavily for a while until he stopped abruptly and resorted to staring emptily at the space between his knees. Nayru approached.

"_Long before Hyrule, there was a world where we took part in the affairs of those below. We placed judgments on those disturbing the peace and for a while the world prospered." _She knelt down so she was level with the sorcerer. "_Would you hear this story, sorcerer?"_

Vaati nodded wordlessly. It no longer fazed him that he was sitting in the presence of the goddesses of Hyrule. He didn't care.

"_The world was not at peace for long, for soon petty quarrels broke out at increasing frequency and neighbors became irritated at ones who they had once called friends. With too much peace, the people had come to lose appreciation for what they had and the world eventually fell apart. _

_Learning from our mistakes, we created something to maintain the balance of our next world. That something was the Triforce, composed of the three parts that represent each of our power. Three would be chosen to wield each piece, and would be reborn so they may continue to keep the balance in the world we created. _

_The wielder of the Triforce of Power creates the conflict that unites the people of all races and ideologies under one cause. The conflict will also remind people to see the things they have in a new light – they will learn to be grateful. _

_The wielder of the Triforce of Courage is the one to resolve the conflict and defeat the wielder of the Triforce of Power against all odds. His stories will spread across the land and give people the hope to continue their own fight against their problems despite how impossible they may seem. _

_Lastly, the wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom provides guidance for the wielder of the Triforce of Courage. She is also the medium to which our wisdom is passed on to nudge the people in the right direction. All three must coexist or else the scales will be tipped and the world will fall apart. _

_There was a slight mishap regarding the Triforce of Power in the last adventure you were involved in. The Triforce of Power had lost its influence, and the balance was about to be disrupted. You believed that its wielder would remain gone from history forever, but that cannot be…for all three are required for this world to remain. The Triforce of Power temporarily found itself to a new wielder while things sorted out. _

_That wielder, as you discovered, was the late king of Hyrule. Consumed with uncertainty and rage with the unaccepted marriage of the Hero of Time and the princess he overtook the same characteristics the King of Darkness had. The Triforce of Power recognized this, and the king of Hyrule became the wielder until he finally turned into Ganon himself. _

_Ganon is not simply a name, nor is he a specific man. Like Link and Zelda, his name is simply symbolic of the one who wields the Triforce of Power, nothing more. Do you understand now, why it is for your own good not to lay hands on the Triforce?"_

Vaati picked up a piece of debris and wiped the dust off with his slender fingers. He took another piece and began to chip the first one into a triangle. In his open palm a small gust formed and the triangle smoothed over and shone silver until he let it fall from his hand and it shattered with the tinkling sound of a bell. "Was it all for nothing, then? All this while, my goals have been all for nothing?" Vaati whispered.

Din stepped up. "_We do not deny you've made terrible mistakes, but not all was without cause. You've touched the lives of the few you've met."_

The sorcerer stood up abruptly and walked back away from the goddesses. Farore followed softly behind.

"_You no longer have to prove yourself. They would have understood. He would have understood."_

Vaati froze up. He didn't need this. "I'm doing this for myself."

"_So that you may bring back the confidence of the one frie –"_

"Shut up!" Vaati yelled. He whirled around with his mouth open in retort, but then lost his voice when he saw the goddesses had disappeared. The only signs of them ever having graced his presence was the final lingering voice of Farore.

"_Before we leave, Shadow Link has a message for you. He says he's sorry he had to go, and he would have wanted to stay if he could have. He says he'll come back one day to make a mark."_

The sorcerer turned slowly to where Shadow Link lay peacefully on the ground. Or rather, had lain; the shadow had gone without a trace. He looked to the flat grey sky and then turned again to the glittering gold triangles.

"_Think carefully, sorcerer. You no longer have to prove yourself."_

Vaati stared at the Triforce pieces for a long time. He stared at them until they, too, disappeared with a flash. Once the blinding light had gone, the darkness over Hyrule dissipated and Vaati found himself in the halls of Hyrule Castle back in all its splendor with no hints of a fight anywhere. He stood there for a while longer with an invisible wind tugging on his cape, and then stooped to pick up the Master Sword. He finally warped away to fetch Link and Daeia.

It was finally over.

After all these years...

It was over.

* * *

fleets: I know I haven't updated Tainted Heart in a while, and I must be missing it because some foreshadowing parts for that story have snuck their way in here (hur hurr). Huh...this was...a difficult chapter. A bit emotionally heavy even for me. We still have one more chapter to go; or two depending on how much I underestimate how long it's going to take to wrap up.

**Gyrogia: **No, he's not dead. :) And it's finally over for him...

**James Birdsong: **Thank you!

**Reily96: **Ah, well, hope you still have some of your soul left because I did make you wait quite a bit.

**Dea Letum:** Yeah! Go Vaati!

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **Castle's all fixed, Vaati won, and the paradox is gone. I'm a little sad though...Ohhh and my devart name is fleetfleets, but the easiest way to get to my page is to hit the "homepage" button on my author's page. ;)

**Bishieluver01: **Yayers! And thanks for the pic again.

**Peka The Corsair: **Cliffhangers keep me going~ it forces me to keep going out of curiosity :)

**Azure Neko: **Aww, well, I do lose my mind sometimes though :D

**Astral S. Kepeire: **Well, I apologize for being frustrating. I hope you feel a little better? :)

**Darkwind: **I write cliffies because I'm crazy! Bwahaha! At least this one wasn't a cliffy, aye?

**snowcreek: **Er...well...it wasn't supposed to be a funny chapter??? O.o

**I luv Vaati: **It wasn't really the sword's punishment, but the sword's prediction. Poor Vaati, he brought it upon himself.

**nintendomerlin-64: **Fey was just one of those characters I created for the sole purpose to die....I do that quite often it seems...:(

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **I just did do that...but yes, you are awesome! Huh, it might've been my computer freaking out on me then. :/


	33. A New Life

fleets: Well...yeah. Last chapter everyone. I really enjoyed writing this despite all the sleep I lost over it...(sniff)  
In keeping with the Linkin' Park theme started in Beyond Centuries, this ends with lyrics from their song "No Roads Left." The song belongs to them, not me. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 31: A New Life **

A week had passed since he had defeated Ganon. A week had passed since he had remained in Hyrule Castle, shooing off curious visitors and either holing himself up in the room he had chosen or lying on the roof and enjoying the calm wind playing with his hair.

_Goddesses, what am I doing here? _Vaati thought with a sad smile as he gazed up at the clear sky. He watched a sparrow turn cartwheels above him. He was free to go where he wished, free to leave the simple fools of Hyrule behind, and free to do whatever he liked. There were so many things he could do he didn't know where to start. Or…were there really so many things? Maybe there were too few…

Vaati frowned.

So far, he couldn't really think of anything that really sparked his interest. There was an empty void that he couldn't fill now that his strive for ultimate power had gone. He really needed to figure something out soon – Link and Zelda were becoming bolder to disturb him in his room, asking him what he planned to do. He'd been turning them away with a huff and a resolute click of the door but he knew that one of these days he was going to need an answer or they'd never leave him be.

Vaati smiled, recalling Link's first reaction when he had opened the door to his and Daeia's prison cells. He'd opened the door and tossed the Master Sword at the gaping Link, and remembered Daeia clapping her hands together and reaching out for a hug (which he sternly declined but grudgingly accepted when he caved). The hero had stepped in front of his daughter defensively as though expecting him to try something, but Vaati had merely shrugged his shoulders and left, telling him he should go and find Princess Zelda. The expression on Link's face had been priceless, the poor fool. There was that unbelieving skepticism on his grimy face, not entirely convinced that he was telling him the truth or if he really was the power crazed sorcerer and not some imposter. Link had finally believed him when Vaati had dropped one of his characteristic acid remarks, but he had become even more flabbergasted at the sorcerer's apparent disinterest in the Triforced.

"Vaati, what happened up there? Where's Shadow Link? What about the Triforce?" Link had asked.

Vaati had given him a quick reply. "Shadow's gone. As for the Triforce, it no longer interests me."

"He's…dead…?"

"He'll come back one day, I'm sure," he'd told Link, puzzlement blossoming on the confused hero's face. Leaving Link and Daeia with little on what had happened up in the throne room, Vaati had announced he was going to take ownership of one of the castle rooms until he felt like departing. Daeia had been happy, but Link had been confusion itself.

And so, after one week, Vaati found himself lying on the slanted west tower roof of the newly and magically rebuilt Hyrule Castle. He stole a glance at Link sitting with his family by a tree outside the castle gardens. Vaati squinted his eyes and then shook his head. The sun's heat must finally be getting to him if he imagined Link's shadow waving mockingly. Vaati sighed, and he pointed a finger at the sparrow flying above him without a care in the world. He shot a stray blast that was aimed so it didn't hit the bird, but it made it sufficiently startled so that it no longer flew with the wandering loops of a free flyer.

Vaati squinted at the sun.

He'd never felt so lost.

XXXXXXXXX

"You'll be fine," Zelda reassured the young new king. Link kept his head locked to the west tower roof, his forehead wrinkled with preoccupation. The queen of Hyrule stroked his shoulder while Daeia picked flowers in the distance. Link's gaze momentarily left the tower and landed on his daughter, and he frowned even more. Things were back to the way they had been, but at the same time, they weren't.

Before, a pale green fairy would have been keeping Daeia company. He'd sent that fairy to her death, and though his daughter continued to smile and laugh he knew she still didn't fully understand why Fey hadn't returned despite promises. It was as though a part of her had died with the fairy and Link couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever be the same again. Time will tell.

On top of that, he had returned to a Hyrule where the late king lay dead. A whole country had been thrown into his arms overnight and before he knew it he had been proclaimed king. It made his heart heavy thinking of how he never got to know the real King Daltus before he'd died, and wondered if he would ever be able to follow his footsteps. Zelda had been devastated when she found out her father had been the victim of Ganon, and he doubted she was completely over his abrupt death.

One of the most troubling things of all was the apparent ignorance of the events at Hyrule Castle by the common people. They were largely unaware of the fact that something dark had been brewing at the castle, and now that everything had returned to normal most people who were even remotely sensitive about the events dismissed them without a care. For them the battle against the king of darkness hadn't really affected their lives, and because of that they didn't really seem to find much excitement in knowing about how they had _almost_ been taken over, tortured, and brutally murdered.

"The people already love you. They would accept you as the new king of Hyrule," Zelda said again, still misunderstanding the base of Link's preoccupation. His gaze wandered back towards the west tower again and his eyes searched for a pale purple figure stretched out on the rooftops. Zelda followed his gaze. "You're wondering about him?"

Link nodded wordlessly. There was Vaati, too. The sorcerer still wouldn't tell him what had happened while he was trapped in the dungeon cells except little details such as how he owed Fey his life. He'd said that with a scowl but Link had been able to tell the sorcerer was grateful for what she had done.

The wind mage had changed. Vaati seemed more lost in the world, and it was as though he had lost confidence in himself. When Link did see Vaati he had a sad, melancholy smile plastered onto his face until he noticed Link and resumed scowling. He spent most of his days lying outside on the roof – even on the two days Hyrule had experienced a downpour. Link was surprised Vaati hadn't become raw red from staying out in the sun for so long.

"He's changed, hasn't he?" Zelda read his thoughts. Link shifted his seat under the tree they were sitting under. Zelda moved her hand away and let Link wonder alone.

"Do you think what he says is true, that he's not after the Triforce anymore?"

Zelda leaned back. "I believe it is true. If that's what you're worried about…"

"It's not." Link shook his head. Zelda waited patiently under Link's uncooperative mood. The hero wearily let out a breath. "Vaati was a man after ultimate power regardless of any obstacle. Is Vaati still Vaati without that? It's like he's lost his identity."

"He'll have to redefine himself in a different light now. Do not dwell on this too much, you have enough quandaries of your own."

"Yeah, no kidding…" Link muttered in agreement. He perked up when Daeia came running towards them.

"Daddy! Mommy! Look at all these flowers!" She dove into Zelda's arms and then showered a laughing Link with a handful of flowers. She cuddled with her parents for a little bit, and then twisted her head to where they had been looking at before. She pulled herself away from her mother and climbed onto Link. "What are you looking at, daddy?" She asked. "Is it Vaati?"

"Yes."

She watched the small dot on the west tower roof for a little while. "Why does he sit there all day?"

Link told her he didn't know. Zelda picked up one of the flowers Daeia had gathered, and then dropped it when she saw her daughter with a glittering mass in her hands. "Daeia, don't do that. You still don't have complete control over magic yet."

"Yes mommy." She spread her hands and let the faint gold butterflies flutter away and disappear.

The lingering gold sparkles from the magical butterflies suddenly swirled violently with a vortex summoned before the royal family. Zelda put her arms over her eyes to keep her hair out of her eyes and held Daeia close. Link, on the other hand, had his eyes expectantly on the swirling cyclone, waiting. Blue eyes locked onto red ones.

Daeia peeked over her mother's arms and shook her head free of the petals that had fallen on her face. She gasped. "Vaati!"

"Zelda, Daeia, stay here." Link stood up and Vaati, with a curt nod, turned around and began walking the other way. "Don't worry, I'll be back in a bit," he reassured his wife and daughter. Link jogged to catch up to the sorcerer.

Daeia struggled out of Zelda's arms and moved to the other side of the tree, her face pressed against the rough weathered bark. She kept watch on her father and the man that had saved Hyrule. She had lost her childish naivety, and was now looking on with the stern coolness of a worldly adult.

XXXXXXXX

"Let me guess, you're leaving" Link stated. Vaati shrugged and nodded. They'd gone through this already after their first adventure together, and nothing more really needed to be said. Although Link still had a million questions he wanted to ask, he decided that Vaati probably had a good reason why he wasn't sharing everything.

"So…what do you plan to do now? Got any plans?" Link asked. "You better not make me climb the Palace of Winds to stop your devious plans again."

"Nonsense," Vaati snorted.

"Seriously though. What are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking of getting a farm. Raise a cucco army while I'm at it."

"…"

"They give pretty nasty pecks, I've heard."

"…"

"Cheap, too."

"…seriously?"

Vaati rolled his eyes. "Of course not, idiot."

"So then what?"

Just as Vaati was about to answer, a tiny force shoved him forward. He sighed and wrenched Daeia's arms away from him while Link pulled the crying little girl away. Daeia kicked and struggled and ran back to the exasperated wind mage again.

"Vaati don't leave! Vaati don't leave! Vaati don't leave!" she repeated over and over again, her voice a bit muffled by the cape in her face. Vaati raised his hands, shaking his head. He grumbled, and then summoned a quick spell that snapped her arms to her side so he could get away.

"Daeia, come on. Stay with mommy while I talk to Vaati." Link urged gently.

"No…" she whispered. "Why can't Vaati stay?"

The sorcerer had a disgusted look on his face as though offended by the tears. He seemed genuinely bothered by her reaction and appeared to struggle to comprehend why she wanted him to stay. "I don't have anything here." Daeia turned away and muttered something under her breath. Vaati didn't hear everything she said, but he noticed that the accent on some of the words were strange. "Hm?"

Daeia mumbled something again, and his time, the sorcerer froze. His expression loosened, and he sounded defeated when he shook his head again and heaved another heavy sigh. It had been a long while since he had heard that particular dialect of Minish. He wondered where Daeia had picked up on the Hylian Minish dialect he had grown up with.

"You can be my _sheikah_…" Daeia tried again, this time a bit louder.

Sheikah. Guardian. He'll never do that. The greatest sorcerer in the world babysitting the royal family, and Link's no less? What the hell…

"Sheikah?" Link looked from Daeia to Vaati. The mage stood stonily ahead and then, for the first time since he had met the girl, he showed some form of care. It was a pat to her head, and it looked somewhat ridiculous especially because the mage appeared a bit embarrassed that he was acting so out of character.

He coughed. "Farewell." Vaati held up a hand, effectively silencing the teary little girl. "If you ever require assistance such as casting protective wards…"

Link and Daeia broke out in identical smiles. "You know you can just say that you want to stay here," Link laughed.

"If you ever require assistance –" Vaati repeated firmly.

"If it hurts your pride a little less we can pay you to stay."

Vaati glowered at Link's cheeky grin. The sorcerer huffed, and then frowned condescendingly. "I've noticed your 'royal guards' are lacking in skill. I plan to create an elite group that can handle themselves with intelligence and responsibility in any situation."

"Ah, your cucco army I assume?"

"I will personally train those of the elite Sheikah until they can effectively look after you bumbling fools and make sure you stay out of trouble without my help," Vaati snapped.

Daeia let out a happy squeal and ran circles around them before she went running back to the tree where Zelda sat waiting. She yelled something about telling mommy the news about Vaati, and trails of white dandelion seeds whisked away to the air after her feet.

"She adores you."

Vaati grumbled noncommittally. Link slapped him cheerfully on the back.

"Oh come on, lighten up for once!"

Vaati snarled. "Don't touch m – "

"Thanks for deciding to stay. It means a lot to us. Especially her."

The sorcerer faltered. He gave a short nod before he crossed his arms with his lips pressed tightly in annoyance and warped away – probably back to his lookout on the roof. The smile on Link's face hadn't left him yet, and for the first time since he had been reunited with Zelda and Daeia he felt truly happy. He felt that this adventure had finally come to a close, and it was as though a weight had been eased off his shoulders. Link thought about the time when he had first run into Vaati – a cold, cruel monster of a man who stopped at nothing to get his way. The mage was still a bit callous, but Link could now see little instances where the reluctant sorcerer showed some heart in his own way.

_Even in the worst there's some hope._ Link stretched in the sun and trudged over to Zelda and Daeia under the tree.

XXXXXXXX

All the way up on the rooftop of the western tower, Vaati stared thoughtfully at the happy family by the leafy tree just outside the gardens. A voice had been shouting at him to get his senses together and desert the castle, but it had been gradually fading away. It was going to take a lot to get used to the idea of taking residence at Hyrule Castle with _them_, but the more he thought about it the more he became interested in it. Here was his chance to create the most elite group of people Hyrule had ever seen, all under his command. Of course it was going to take a lot of effort and patience, but he welcomed the challenge. Just a few moments ago he had been completely without motivation to do anything, but now he had a project on his hands.

A new life…it was going to be different from the one he had been living all this time.

Vaati smiled to himself.

Not that different was a bad thing.

XXXXXXXX

_Standing alone with no direction  
How did I fall so far behind?  
Why Am I searching for perfection?  
Knowing it's something I won't find_

_In my fear and flaws  
I let myself down again  
All because_

_I run  
Till the silence splits me open  
I run  
Till it puts me underground  
Till I have no breath  
And no roads left but one_

_When did I lose my sense of purpose?  
Can I regain what's lost inside?  
Why do I feel like I deserve this?  
Why does my pain look like my pride?_

_In my fear and flaws  
I let myself down again  
All because  
I let myself down  
In my fear and flaws_

_I run  
Till the silence splits me open  
I run  
Till it puts me underground  
Till I have no breath  
And no roads left but one  
No roads left but one_

_In my fear and flaws  
I let myself down again  
All because_

_I run  
And the silence splits me open  
I run  
And it puts me underground  
But there's no regret  
And no roads left to run _

* * *

fleets: Vaati and the Sheikah! Not entirely my idea, because I decided to go with this after reading some theories on considering Vaati being related to the Sheikah tribe (dark magic, red eyes, pale, you get the picture). At first I was like, "ugh no way..." but then a really crazy idea snuck its way into my already crazy head to make this theory work with BC/TU.

I feel like Vaati - first, feeling empty because I lost a goal with the completion of this story...but then feeling determined with a new goal. Anyone who's taken a peek at my devart gallery might recall me mentioning something about a Sheikah story.  
Now, before you come beat me up screaming about writing a seemingly never ending story arc, let me explain.

My next project will be a companion story to The Unresolved. DO NOT read it if you become offended by many many many character deaths. I warn you now: everyone relevant will die in the first chapter and I'm not spoiling anything by saying this. The story is Tragedy, and its main purpose is to follow through on why the deaths occurred and what happened during the Sheikah betrayal. You can just stop reading this series after TU and decide not to go on to read my next story (Recollections) because I understand it can get annoying when authors stretch out a story too much. The main reason why Recollections is being written is because I believe stories are only truly over when the players are dead...(if you couldn't tell already this will be quite morbid).

I will focus on Tainted Heart from now on because it's been on hold for far too long.

I would like to say thank you to every reviewer and every reader who has spent their time visiting this story. Honest to god I wish I can thank you individually like I had done in Beyond Centuries, but it has gotten to the point that sifting through all 200+ reviews to thank each one of you will be too much work for me to handle :(. In other words, thank you all so much for all the incredible support you've given me while I wrote this story. I'm not ashamed to say I sacrificed a few dinners to complete a chapter because I didn't want to keep you guys waiting on me for too long. I hope you like my future projects!

A quick dialogue by Wizz and then a preview of Recollections is next.

**Reily96: **I actually didn't plan to include the goddesses and keep them as symbolic representations, but then I got the idea that I was able to make sense out of :). Wow...I'm done. Shocking really. I'm going to miss this...

**H-bomber: **Thanks for the support! I can't believe I'm done.

**Diablo1123: **Yeah...this was the end. I'm not really going to count Recollections because it's...I dunno...different. I'm sad this is over...:( One day I might write more about Shadow Link. But before that, on to my other projects!

**Astral S. Kepeire: **I kinda saw it as all the Links and Zeldas and Ganons as being different people but taking on the same name. And uh, you might not like 'Recollections' because, as I said earlier, everyone relevant who's made an appearance in BC and TU will be dead...

**DarkLinkvsRaineSagefan101: **Ah, you'll find out in Tainted Heart. Vaati speaks true though. From his pov, he did it for himself...but at the same time Farore speaks truth too. Thanks for liking my tiny gallery! Sure, I'll draw the request once I finish all my other projects I've put on hold ;)

**I luv Vaati: **Poor Shadow. I didn't really have a happy story for him. But yeah, he's not dead! Well, he is...but I consider him 'attached' to Link and that you can't have Link without Shadow and vice versa. Maybe reincarnate, perhaps? Maybe I'll write about him one of these days when I find time because I really enjoyed writing him in this story.

**Bishieluver01: **I really couldn't find anything more to write after this one, so yeah, it's come to an end :'(. I couldn't keep up with TH because I was way to busy to do both stories and this one took priority, but now I'm going to make TH my first priority because I'm (sadly) done with this one. I really don't know if I'm going to keep writing after these projects. Right now I don't have any ideas besides those...

**Victoria-BlackHeart: **Thanks. I'm glad you liked the series, and I'm so sad TU has come to an end. Time to move on, and get TH and Rec going strong.

**Peka The Corsair: **Thanks for reading this far! It feels so weird...I don't have any more to add to this story. But now I'm free to put my focus on the story I've neglected! ;)

**nintendomerlin-64: **As much as I hate Ganon, I can't really see ToZ being ToZ without him. I wish Vaati would make more game appearances though.


	34. Extra: Nonsense by Wizz

fleets: Ummm, don't ask. I let Wizz run away with this one. I personally suggest you don't even bother reading this because it's so random. I'm going to give that dumb robe his own account so he doesn't interfere with mine. :/

Oh gods, yeah, take what Wizz writes with a grain of salt because he's completely nuts...

* * *

Welcome readers! Congratulations on completing this behemoth of a story even though there was only one relevant chapter in the entire series - the chapter where I made a quick and short lived appearance of course. If you couldn't tell yet, I am the most skilled wizzrobe in Hyrule: the silver robed Wizzrobe! Please, do not embarrass me, I can only take so much applause and cheering. I have unfortunately retired in my abrupt career as a story character after my defeat by Lord Vaati, but I have taken up a new writing hobby. Opal continues to remind me that I still do not quite understand how plots work and whatnot, so I decided to record conversations in script format just as they had occurred. I am adept at recalling dialogue if I say so myself, and fleets tells me that even dialogue can suffice as a story if it involves me in some way. I do hope the moderators on fanfiction-dot-net will ignore the 'no script allowed' just this once. For me. Because apparently I'm pretty horrid when it comes to writing 'real stories' as Opal calls them, and my verbosity can drive people wonderfully insane.

So here I present a pleasant conversation I had with my other retired acquaintance this very morning regarding the conclusion of the very long series fleets had written:

Wizz: Oh dear...so it finally ended. What did you think of that?

Opal: Hm? Well, like all long stories it can be kinda abrupt when it ends right?

Wizz: I can't say I've read many stories besides this one.

Opal: Eh, I'm not completely satisfied. There're still some things missing.

Wizz: Like what?

Opal: For example, where's Shadow Link? Fleets usually sends dead characters to see us at least once like that damned fairy.

Wizz: Damned fairy...you mean poor Fey you have in that bottle over there?

Opal: I have to agree with Vaati - she's really...REALLY screechy.

Wizz: I suppose so. As for Shadow Link, I hear he's not going to have a very happy ending despite the hopeful tone he left with.

Opal: Oh?

Wizz: Have you heard of Dark Link from Ocarina of Time? Apparently poor Shadow is going to lose his memories and be reincarnated as the dark doppelganger doomed to be defeated at the Water Temple. Technically, he does make a mark as he predicts. His fan base is almost entirely based off of his appearance in that game!

Opal: ...

Wizz: Oh yes, I apologize right now for accidentally overwriting your save file for the game with mine. I did not mean to.

Opal: So it WAS you!

Wizz: Ah, anyways, back to relevant topics. Why yes, now that you do mention it, there were quite a few things mentioned that seemed to need a followup. I am now curious as to the prediction the Master Sword made when Lord Vaati made his decision to take the sword.

Opal: I'll let you change the subject just this once but after this is over I'm going to fry you alive.

Wizz: You dragons are a savage bunch. Well, I have to say the prediction interests me very much. Poor Lord Vaati...he's never going to be in peace kwuekekeke!

Opal: Don't you remember how fleets said everyone relevant is going to be dead in the next story?

Wizz: Oh dear...you don't think?

Opal: I'm not 100% sure but it sounds pretty obvious.

Wizz: But...but...that can't happen. That would be as improbable as Princess Zelda marrying me.

Opal: We'll just have to wait and see, huh?

Wizz: Fleets would have to be awfully clever to get away with that one. Either that or rabidly mad to break the hearts of so many fans. Or perhaps absolutely brilliant for pulling it off. Genius, amazing, wonderful, masterly -

Opal: Geez, Wizz, remember fleets said "subtle advertising" for the next story. Not "blatantly stupid." Keep your mouth shut before you scare everyone away.

Wizz: I am sorry. By the way...

Opal: Hm?

Wizz: Why do we call her 'fleets' anyway? It is such a strange name, and it's not even capitalized properly!

Opal: I asked her once.

Wizz: Really! What did she say?

Opal: She gave me a name.

Wizz: And?

Opal: Her first name is Mary.

Wizz: ...what a very traditional name.

Opal: No, you don't understand. Guess her last name.

Wizz: ?

Opal: She said it was Sue.

Wizz: Mary Sue? That sounds reasonable enough for me. I guess I will have to start calling her Mary then.

Opal: ...

I think Opal left me at that point. I do not know why, but she always sounds tired after talking to me for some time. In fact, almost everyone I meet sounds drained after hearing me talk. Perhaps they cannot keep up with my keener intellect. Ah yes, that must be it! Only Lord Vaati remained energetic enough after talking to me, but I suspect it is because he is always angry with me. But my word, I am worried about the upcoming story! Will Lord Vaati be dead? I worry to think.

...

Hmmm, well, I do hope I sounded convincingly curious and excited about the next story. My job for writing this was to "subtly advertise" the upcoming companion story. I wonder if that was subtle enough? I can never tell. Just in case I was too subtle and failed to advertise, I shall say this right here for good measure.

Read it.

Ah yes, well, I am glad you've gotten this far. Perhaps I, Wizzrobe, will create an account for myself and write stories of my own? If Opal does not literally flame them first I may very well give it a shot.


	35. Excerpt from next project

fleets: This is an excerpt from my next project, "Recollections." I'll leave you to guess who the speaker is, but I think it's pretty obvious. This story will be different in that I'm going to attempt to develop it by putting together a series of first person accounts. This one is from a diary, but right now I'm thinking of including letters, fading memories, pamphlets, etc. I'm not sure how it's going to go yet. I'll figure it out as I go along.

* * *

The air is still today. It wasn't always like this, this calm and stagnant atmosphere suffocating my throat closed like a choking serpent coiled around my neck. Or maybe it's not the air that's choking me, but the sadness. Maybe the tightness around my neck is just the sign of coming tears as I sit across the marble and onyx headstones.

No, I do not cry anymore. I've run out of tears and I cannot let the people see me cry lest they become discouraged or afraid. A few drops escape my eyes while I write this, alone in the graveyard, but they must be some morning condensation that had collected on my cheek and nothing more. This stifling hold is not because of my despairing sorrow but the stillness of the air…

The wind has gone. The gentle breeze, the caressing gust, the wind no longer welcomes me when I step outside in the sun. Only the occasional melancholy howl whistles through the streets, and even then one has to be patient to hear it. I walk the gardens at night, hoping to feel the delicate wind again…but it never comes.

How did it come to be like this, my heart so empty and torn? Everyday I sneak out of the castle so that I may come to this place alone, hoping to find some peace in being in the presence of the white and black stones. The white marble is tall and graceful, but not so magnificent so as to be intimidating. The letters are etched with slender curves and a certain modesty my father and mother would have appreciated. I can still see my mother with her expression so delicate lying on the maroon carpet with a tiny glass bottle in her hands. I do not resent her decision. I used to turn the same deadly bottle over and over again in my hands, wondering why I shouldn't join them to where they all had gone.

The black one is smaller than the other. Unlike the white, only one person sleeps beneath its shadow. It stands nameless, and only the few who holds the secrets of that terrible day knows about its existence. He would have wanted it that way. There is nothing grand about this one – smooth and polished it is no more special than any other headstone scattered in the royal graveyard. No matter, it is very special to me. Not once have I forgotten to place freshly cut white lilies before the grave, the petals gleaming in the contrast of the obsidian. He may have been as cold as the stone, but I know there was no other man who had been lonelier than he had been.

Why, why did you do it? I never had the chance to ask my father but somehow I doubt even he knew the entire reason why.

Wrinkled papers slide out of my hands as my mind wanders and my vision blurs. The morning dew is certainly thick today. I hurry to pick them up, for they are the only clues I have of that week, and perhaps the last memories I will ever have of the invisible guardian. Fragile sheets, wrinkled after being constantly handled by my hands and stained with drops of salty tears crackle under my touch. Each one had been hidden in some obscure corner of the western tower, and each one I will forever treasure. I used to cry myself to sleep after reading them every night, wondering why you never told anyone all those things you wrote. You sounded so frail and afraid. Were you afraid of yourself? It left a scar on my heart because the moment those elegant inked words entered my eyes I realized the extent of how much I never knew you. And I will never know you. Never again will I be able to seek advice or hear your stories. Never again will I wake to the familiar sound of your caustic remarks floating through the castle corridors.

When you left, everything swirled to the darkest depths and I stood watching as one by one the people I cared about disappeared from my life forever. When you left, everything went wrong.

I will always be left wondering what had happened. In the midst of all the chaos I fear the truth will be lost like the letters on the black grave. And for the rest of my life I will sift through these letters, diaries, and memories to see if I can find some truth to it all.

These recollections…

They haunt me so…


End file.
